Indian Women Peacekeeping Forces

Indian Women Peacekeeping Forces

• As a member of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force, India sent a battalion of female soldiers to Abyei, which is located on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

UN peacekeeping: What is it?

• When the UN Security Council approved the dispatch of UN military observers to the Middle East in 1948, UN peacekeeping officially got underway.
• UN peacekeeping aids nations in negotiating the perilous transition from war to peace.
• In order to carry out a variety of mandates established by the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly, it mobilizes military forces and law enforcement from all over the world and combines them with civilian peacekeepers.

About the women’s deployment:

• Its membership consists of a Major from the Corps of Signals and a Captain from the Corps of Engineers, both of whom are female Army officers.
• 25 female troops from the Assam Rifles and the Corps of Military Police (CMP) are part of the contingent.
• With this unit, India has the most female peacekeepers of any nation participating in a UN mission.
• UN mandate: To address situations involving women and children suffering the most in a war situation, the UN recommended that member states deploy female engagement teams (FET) with infantry battalion groups in UN Missions.

Importance of Women Peacekeeping Units:

• Building trust and confidence with local populations is a key component of the importance of women in peacekeeping units. They also help local women have better access to resources and support.
• Genesis: As part of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, India sent the first-ever all-female detachment from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to that country in 2007. (UNMIL).
• Worthy of praise: It served as a role model for the African nation, which currently has 17% women in its security forces, up from fewer than 1% in 2007.
• The mainstreaming of women and children into community and social development programs at the grassroots level has also been accomplished admirably by Indian teams working in the Congo and South Sudan.
• Creating and Inspiring Role Models: In post-conflict environments in the host community, women peacekeepers act as strong mentors and role models for women and girls, providing them with motivation to fight for their own rights and pursue non-traditional vocations.
• Better Access: Women peacekeepers have better access to the general public, especially women and children. For instance, they can interview and help victims of gender-based and child abuse, gathering vital information that would otherwise be hard to come by.
• Vocational Training in Native Language: Women officers participated in a variety of quick impact projects, such as facilitating the operation of vocational training centers in the nation and establishing power connections, and they also learned how to communicate with the general public and NGOs in French and local Swahili.

How many women are now serving in the UN peacekeeping forces?

• Women are deployed in all roles, including police, military, and civilian, and they have a positive influence on the peacekeeping environment. This includes promoting women's roles in fostering peace and defending women's rights.
• According to the UN, women will make up 4.8% of military contingents, 10.9% of organised police units, and 34% of government-provided judicial and correctional staff in UN Peacekeeping missions in 2020, out of roughly 95,000 peacekeepers.
• The Global Effort Initiative was started by the UN Police Division to increase the number of female police personnel serving in both national and UN police operations around the world.
• 15% of women must serve in military contingents by 2028, and 25% must be staff officers and military observers.
• UNSC Decision: In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR1325), women are to play a larger role and contribute more to the organization's operations, including as uniformed women peacekeepers.
• Initiative called "Action for Peacekeeping" (A4P) The Women, Peace and Security (WPS)theme is important to improving the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, according to the UN Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative.
• This can be done by encouraging women to fully participate in peace processes and adapting peacekeeping to the needs of both men and women, especially by expanding the representation of women in uniform and civilian roles at all levels and in crucial positions.
• There are 152 Member States that have signed A4P, and some of them, including Bangladesh, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, have stepped forward to particularly support implementation of A4P's WPS commitment.

Way Forward

• This underscores India's long-standing practice of actively taking part in UN peacekeeping operations and promoting Nari Shakti there.