The United Nations General Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.The theme for the 2021 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security”.
             The day has two purposes:

• to honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace
• to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN Peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.

This year’s theme is “Peace begins with me’.
 The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948,

UN current  Secretary-General is António Guterres.

INDIA’S ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

India is a founding member of the United Nations. In the UN peace-Keeping and peace making operations India’s contribution has been significant. Today India is making large and simultaneous troop commitments than past. Along with this, India’s willingness to take risks and sustain its commitment in hazardous operations has demonstrated its ‘reliability’ as a peace-keeper. India’s contribution to the United Nations rose 55% to Rs 244 crore in 2015-16.

India is currently the third largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping, with over 6,000 military and police personnel deployed to Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East and Western Sahara.

India has lost the highest number of its peacekeepers in various UN peacekeeping operations in the last 70 years, with 163 military, police and civilian personnel from the country laying down their lives in the line of duty.

According to the UN, of the 3,737 peacekeepers who have died since 1948, 175 have been from India, the highest total from any troop-contributing country.  More than 2,53,000 Indians have served in 49 of the 71 UN Peacekeeping missions established around the world since 1948.

India is currently the second largest contributor of military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping, with 6,693 now deployed in Abyei, Cyprus, Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

India continued to provide commanders, armed military contingents, military observers, and staff officers, as also Indian Air Force attack and utility helicopters, to many of the UN missions deployed to keep the peace in various parts of the world.

India has also provided police personnel to a number of United Nations missions As in Namibia, Western Sahara, Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia (where it has created history by providing all-women formed police units that has drawn acclaim locally as well as internationally) and in Sudan/South Sudan. India has also been contributing to the United Nations Peace building Fund.

The Indian Army has also undertaken various humanitarian tasks besides the operational tasks in the Mission Areas to create an enviable reputation for itself, like conduct of Jaipur Foot Projects in Lebanon, medical camps for the locals, veterinary camps, AIDS awareness camps, construction of schools, play grounds and temporary shelters, digging of bore wells, constructing check dams for water harvesting, running vocational training institutes for self-employment, organizing sports functions for local school children and assistance for resettlement and rehabilitation.

Participation in UN peacekeeping operations represented a significant means by which India could demonstrate both its Third World credentials and its continuing commitment to the ideals and ethos of the United Nations.