New Delhi, August 29: In a major development, India’s Permanent Mission to United Nations has co-sponsored a Security Council resolution in the United Nations that calls for full, effective, and meaningful participation of women personnel in peacekeeping operations.

 

 

While informing about the co-sponsorship, India's Permanent Mission to the UN said that India is proud to co-sponsor the resolution which was put forth by Indonesia. The mission said UN Security Council Resolution on ‘women in peacekeeping' calls for full, effective, and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations.

 

 

India is one of the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations. The mission said India has set for itself during its tenure in the Security Council beginning 2021 that India will continue to push for greater involvement of women in all areas. "In line with the priorities, we have set for ourselves during our tenure in the security council beginning 2021, India will continue to push for greater involvement of women in all areas," it added.

 

Since Indonesia took charge as president of the Security Council in 2019, it has been advocating participation of women in UN peacekeeping operations. Indonesia had tabled the draft resolution regarding women in peacekeeping earlier and it was expected to announce the result of the voting on Friday.

 

India was elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term which will begin from January 1, 2021. It will serve as the president of the powerful 15-nation UN body for August 2021. India has a long tradition of being associated with UN Peacekeeping since its inception.

 

India has been sending women peacekeepers almost since the beginning, for instance, as early as 1960 it sent women in the Armed Forces Medical Services to Congo after the country gained independence from Belgium and a conflict ignited constituting a series of civil wars. Indian women served in the Armed Forces Medical Services of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, which was a rare sight then.

 

India currently contributes more than 5,400 military and police personnel to the UN peacekeeping operations in Abyei, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Sudan, South Sudan, and Western Sahara as well as one expert to the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia.

 

Moreover, NewDelhi also had made history in 2007 and becomes the first country in the world to send an all-women UN Peacekeeping mission to the West African country of Liberia. Ban Ki-Moon, the then President of Liberia as well as the former UN Secretary-General hailed them as role models.In 2020 Indian Women peacekeeper Major Suman Gawani won the UN Military Gender Advocate award. She served as a peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.