UN peacekeeping deployments in Africa have mixed record: India

India has said the success record of UN peacekeeping deployments in Africa may have been a "mixed one" due to complexities of geo-politics and political will but important lessons can be drawn for the international community by analysing them.
"While the largest UN peacekeeping deployments have been in Africa, their record of success has been a mixed one, partly reflecting the complexities of geo-politics, political will and the capacities and resources, backing the peacekeeping efforts. Important lessons can be drawn from analysing the various missions," India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Tanmaya Lal said yesterday.
The African Union (AU) peacekeeping efforts have formed the precursor and the basis for several UN peacekeeping efforts in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central African Republic and Somalia.

Participating in a Security Council debate on UN-AU Peace and Security Cooperation, Lal said regional organisations can have several advantages in terms of dealing with crises in their regions.
The organisations may become quick responders and have a much better understanding of the complexities of their region, besides enjoying advantages of language and intelligence.
They can also act as buffers until the deployment of the UN Peacekeepers. Many regional organisations may face serious constraints of capacity, resources and conflicting geo- political interests.

"Priorities of the UN Security Council and those of the regional organisation could also differ significantly," he said, adding that maintaining peace and security across the world continues to be a massive challenge for the international community.

He said, "The nature of conflict itself has been changing with an increasing involvement of non state actors. While the UN continues to be heavily invested in the peace and security efforts, it is difficult for the UN to succeed on its own".
Lal pointed out that currently Indian peacekeepers serve in eight UN peacekeeping missions on the African continent.
He cited the example of the first ever Female Formed Police Unit provided by India and deployed in Liberia, saying the unit received recognition for providing a role model for encouraging female participation in Police and for pursuing gender balance more widely.

Underlining India's longstanding close links with Africa, he said the tradition of south-south solidarity continues to strengthen and was reinforced during the third India-Africa Forum Summit last October when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a significant enhancement of the scale of India's development partnership.
India would extend concessional credit worth USD 10 billion and provide additional grant worth USD 600 million over the next five years to Africa.