Delhi must speak up for UN peacekeepers

Israel’s ongoing ground operations inside Lebanon have seen the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) coming under direct fire from the IDF. Over five days, its Naquora headquarters and other posts were fired at by IDF tanks and soldiers, injuring five UN peacekeepers, causing skin irritation in 15 of them from smoke bombs, and wilfully causing damage to several UNIFIL assets such as vehicles, communication equipment, and perimeter walls. It is to the credit of UNIFIL that they have stood their ground and not given in to Israel’s call to evacuate ranks from Lebanon or to the vilification campaign that has started.

Israel targeting UN peacekeepers has predictably provoked outrage, including in the West (since outrage among troop-contributing countries from the Global South usually does not add up to much). Condemning these attacks, 34 of the 50 UNIFIL troop-contributing countries issued a joint statement calling on parties to stop such actions immediately and investigate. Though India had expressed concern separately, surprisingly, it did not join in, despite being the third-largest current contributor to UNIFIL with more than 900 troops. Indonesia is the top contributor, followed by Italy. There are nearly 10,500 peacekeepers stationed there under the UN flag from 50 troop-contributing countries, including France and Spain. But, immediately after the joint statement was issued, India tweeted that it “aligns itself fully” with that statement.

India’s subdued and almost reluctant reaction is all the more disturbing because it has been no stranger to its peacekeepers shedding blood for the UN, right since it first got involved in UN peacekeeping in the 1950s. India has suffered the largest number of casualties in UN peacekeeping operations — 177. India has also contributed the historically largest number of troops — more than 250,000 so far.

In fact, India has always stood at the forefront of condemning any attack on UN peacekeepers and has invested money, effort and time in making peacekeeping safer. During India’s stint in the UN Security Council 2021-22, it prioritised the security of UN peacekeepers under the slogan “protecting the protectors”. The United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2589, piloted by India, was adopted during the country’s presidency of the Council in August 2021. Unanimously adopting this resolution, the Council called for promoting accountability for the killing of — and all acts of violence against — UN peacekeeping personnel and to address the impunity of aggressors by investigating such acts, and arresting and prosecuting perpetrators.

Indian diplomats worked on this draft for several months to plug this glaring gap in the UN peacekeeping mandate — the lack of accountability of those who commit crimes against UN peacekeepers and mechanisms to bring them to justice. For example, it is estimated that between January 1, 1948, and May 13, 2022, 1,039 UN peacekeepers were killed and at least 3,037 injured “as a result of malicious acts”. Hardly anyone responsible for these crimes has been brought to justice. Launching the “Group of Friends” in the UN to implement UNSCR 2589, India’s external affairs minister pointed out that “this Group represents the political will of Member States, particularly of the troop- and police-contributing countries, to champion the implementation of UNSCR 2589”.

Even though India has close ties with Israel — given the mutually beneficial relations and our stake in that region — it simply cannot be that our proximity to that country (or, forthat matter, any other) makes usless than unequivocal about the safety and security of UN peacekeeping forces, of which our own troops are a part.

Israel’s antagonism towards the UN has only become worse since the Gaza war broke out in October last year. UN agencies have been targeted by Israel. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is the lifeline for several million Palestinian refugees, has been obstructed in performing its critical humanitarian duties not just by Israel but also by the West. Israel is bringing in draft legislation to ban UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territories at a time when 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, two million have been displaced, and are facing hunger and disease. Another instance of Israel’s hostility towards the UN system is its declaration of the UN secretary-general Guterres as persona non grata (an unwelcome person) — a misguided step to penalise the secretary general for what is really a failing of 193 UN member States. In the midst of all this, the advisory ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been drowned out — a ruling that once again underlined the legal basis for a Palestinian State by declaring Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as unlawful.

Israel has traditionally perceived the UN as acting against it. India, on the other hand, has been a strong votary of the UN and the UN system. That is why we remain engaged and continue to demand reform of the UN Security Council to make the UN more relevant and credible. While there may have been a few blips in India’s relations with the UN, we should be careful not to lose sight of our larger objective, especially when Pakistan is poised to enter the Council for 2025-26.

TS Tirumurti is a former Permanent Representative of India to theUnited Nations.The views expressed are personal

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