US diplomat in New Delhi to discuss UN peacekeeping

Weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought greater role for India and other troop-contributing nations in deciding the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, a senior US diplomat has arrived in New Delhi to discuss the issue.

America’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samantha Power, will on Thursday meet senior officials of Indian government and discuss issues related to peacekeeping, according to a press release issued by the US Embassy in New Delhi.

Sources told Deccan Herald that senior government officials would discuss with Power all issues raised by the prime minister during a meeting of the leaders hosted by US President Barack Obama in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.

Conveying New Delhi’s concerns over wanton expansion of the mandate of UN Peacekeeping Operations by the Security Council, Modi called upon the international community to ensure that those who attack peacekeepers are brought to justice. He also sought greater role for India and other troop-contributing nations in deciding the mandate of the peacekeeping operations.

Altogether, 7,793 personnel of India’s armed forces are presently deployed in the conflict zones in Congo, Lebanon, Ivory Coast, East Timor, Sudan, South Sudan and Golan Heights.

India also suffered maximum fatalities, with 160 of its personnel being killed while participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

New Delhi has of late been increasingly concerned over the mismatch between the resources made available to UN peacekeepers and the mandate of the missions.