Safety for blue helmets

Nepali security personnel deployed in UN Peacekeeping missions around the world are said still to be working under risky and fragile security situations emanating from [break] unpredictable attacks by armed factions in war-torn countries. Nepal is the fifth largest troop contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions. In its 52 years of engagement with UN missions, Nepal has lost some 57 security personnel to attacks in foreign lands. Although the situation is now said to be relatively calm in high-risk zones like Lebanon, Chad and Haiti, risks persist in more vulnerable countries like Sudan and DR Congo, which continue to reel under the after effects of civil war and state-led violence.



In Congo, for instance, six Nepal Army personnel have succumbed in clashes with armed groups since 2003. We still have 850 NA men in Congo facing security threats emanating from splintered armed groups. In Beni, in North Kivu province, the Nepali battalion presently faces threats from armed groups like the RDLR and splinter factions of the Mayi Mayi, an armed group initially formed with the aim of providing protection to local communities. Likewise, under UNAMID and UNMIS in Sudan, Nepal Army peacekeepers are posted at vulnerable points. Two Nepali contingents with 160 and 175 personnel respectively are deployed in Darfur alone, which remains a high-risk zone.



The unpredictability of the attack tactics used by dangerous, armed factions along with Africa’s difficult terrain make it hard for the peacekeepers to maintain vigilance and strengthen their hold on their vast areas of responsibilities (AoR). In Congo NA’s AoR spreads 190 km each east-west and north-south. In many missions, even the numbers of the contingents are actually not enough even with extended deployments.



It is the United Nations that determines the requirements for each mission and thereafter the responsibility for security monitoring lies with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General or the Force Commander. Although the risk factor in any UN mission remains as long as the mission itself continues in a given country, it would be appropriate for the UN to engage in a defense mechanism analysis to evaluate the security threats faced by thousands of peacekeepers around the world.



The UN’s constant monitoring mechanism and planning too could be strengthened in order to further protect the peacekeepers. The troop contributing countries also must engage in active dialog to arrive at a correct security analysis which would ultimately assist their own personnel to be deployed in risk-prone zones. Some analysts have also criticized the UN’s budget cuts for some missions. As long as the missions remain in place, there should be no compromises in the financial, logistical or security needs of the peacekeepers.

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