Nepal always followed the path of non-aligned foreign policy and has been regularly contributing troops to maintain peace around the world. Nepal sent troops for the peace missions, at the request of the UN, even when Nepal was suffering under the insurgency with a threat of civil war breaking out. During the insurgency period, the need for troops and material was more at home than abroad. But that did not stop the country from fulfilling its commitment to the UN.
At present, Nepal is the fourth-largest troop contributing country (TCC) to UN peacekeeping missions. NA has been actively involved in the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and re-integration processes in various missions around the world. NA Combat Engineers Company in Congo has contributed a lot to the peace mission there by constructing vital roads for communications. Well-trained and strongly-motivated NA Special Forces are much in demand with the UN Forces and they have proven their worth in Burundi, Sudan and now Chad.
Peacekeeping Task
Nepali soldiers in UN missions are seen as neutral and impartial, which makes them fine peacekeepers. With world-class peace support training centre of the Nepal Army, and the experience of fighting in the recent conflict, the NA soldier is also now more experienced than before in field action and the challenges therein.
Any soldier of any army is trained to be aggressive and be prepared to kill. But peacekeeping requires a lot of patience and soldiers need to remain cool even under the most humiliating provocations. The peacekeeper is required to remain neutral, impartial, and be very humble, exactly the opposite profile of a normal soldier. No wonder Dag Hammarskjold, the Swedish UN Secretary General said, peacekeeping is not a soldier’s job but only a soldier can do it.
After the League of Nations (LON) failed to prevent World War II (1939-1945) and realizing that mankind cannot afford another world war the UN was established to replace the flawed LON in 1945 in order to maintain international peace and promote cooperation in solving international economic, social and humanitarian problems.
In 1956, Egypt, under Nasser, nationalised the Suez Canal and, Britain and France together with Israel invaded Egypt. This created an emergency and the UN reacted quickly. Hammarskjold, the secretary general at the time, along with Lester Pearson, the future prime minister of Canada, conceptualized a military force collected together from the willing member states and deployed it for peacekeeping mission. This concept took hold and became successful and the present day peace support operations evolved from it.
Hammarskjold and Lester named the force United Nations Emergency Force Egypt and launched it to stop the fighting and monitor the ceasefire between the warring sides. The world opinion went against the invasion forcing Britain and France to withdraw their forces. Israel followed suit and completed their withdrawal in phases by 1957.
Though United Nations Truce and Suprevision Organization, based in Jerusalem, was the first mission, it was only an observer mission. Thus UNEF Egypt became the first successful peacekeeping mission and set certain guidelines. The host country has to accept the mission and freedom of movement was negotiated for the peacekeepers. It is quite clear that a UN force cannot stay in a country without the host country’s approval. Most of the peacekeeping operations are launched under the aegis of UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO). As UNMIN Nepal is under the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA), maybe the host country factor is not applicable here.
Economic Status
The UN pays about USD1,000 per soldier per month and that is a good source of income for the individual soldiers, and a source of foreign currency for the government. Individually, a soldier can build a decent house with his UN earnings. At the same time, UN allowances enhance an officer’s economic status, which otherwise is not possible with the regular government salary.
Indeed, the soldier’s position is not all that good in the regular army outside the peacekeeping assignments: The government is unable to provide medical and educational facilities to the soldier’s families. What little is available is from the welfare programs run by the army itself, and funded from the money saved from the UN allowances. The soldiers who do not get opportunity to serve with the UN also benefit from these welfare programmes, and so these missions can be seen as win-win for all sides.
High Professional Standards
Nepali soldiers in UN missions are seen as neutral and impartial, which makes them fine peacekeepers. There is little question of their loyalty and discipline, and he obeys orders without any question and hesitation. With world-class peace support training centre of the NA, and the experience of fighting in the recent conflict, the NA soldier is also now more experienced than before in field action and the challenges therein.
The repeated exposure in the UN peace support mission raises the awareness levels of the army rank-and-file and raises the level of human rights record. While there have been some controversial cases in the recent past, this should not be allowed to cloud the larger picture where the NA has indeed maintained a good record in terms of observance of human rights standards.
Foreign Policy
Countries like Canada, Ireland, and the Scandinavian countries have made UN Peace Support Operations an important aspect of their foreign policy. Nepal too should be able to raise its international profile by utilizing its peacekeeping experience and commitment. We must be able to weave the peace support operations into our foreign policy, based on the professionalism exhibited by our soldiers over the years, which makes Nepal a well-sought after country in the peace support operations. In future, there is a need to ensure more command responsibilities for Nepali officers in the UN peace support missions.
The foreign ministry must coordinate with the NA headquarters and take up the matter of proper representation of the Nepali peacekeepers in the key appointments both in the field and the UNHQ New York. In the meantime, the ‘reimbursement policy’ of the UN will ensure that the NA will always have access to the latest weaponry and equipment at cheaper costs than would otherwise be available. This will improve our logistics system and the soldiers can enjoy better facilities also.
The NA soldier fits into the category of a typical UN peacekeeper. He is well disciplined, well-trained and has good endurance. He adapts well to both heat and cold, is quick to learn languages, is a good sportsman, compassionate, and most of all, is totally impartial and neutral. It must not go unmentioned that the background by faith, and the resultant attitude of tolerance seen in the Nepali peacekeepers are themselves an asset for the UN when deploying the NA in areas where religions and sects are at loggerheads.
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