India calls for 'dedicated' counter-IED resources in UN peacekeeping missions, cites history of casualties

United Nations: With UN peacekeeping missions suffering casualties due to use of improvised explosive devices, India has said there is a need for dedicated counter-IED resources for missions facing such threats and for upgrading the security infrastructure of camps. [caption id=“attachment_5525001” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Military Adviser in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Colonel Sandeep Kapoor said that an analysis of the fatal casualties among peacekeeping personnel in the last four years indicate that at least a quarter of them were due to improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks. “While a number of initiatives have been taken to incorporate Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) measures in the field, we feel that there is a requirement of dedicated counter-IED resources for missions facing such threats. There should also be concerted efforts to upgrade the security infrastructure of camps as a number of casualties have been related to direct attacks on the security camps,” he said while speaking at a Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations on Wednesday. He said peacekeeping is one of the key instruments available to UN in discharging its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Highlighting the impact of caveats on performance, he said caveats have a direct impact on the fulfilment of a peacekeeping mission’s mandate as they limit the Force Commander’s ability to employ forces in an optimal manner. “Therefore, we need to do away with all caveats as it is not possible to fairly assess the performance of peacekeepers operating at different levels,” he said. Kapoor said India welcomes the initiative to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations by assessing performance using Performance Data. He added that while the present measures in the Integrated Performance Policy Framework (IPPF) will address all the performance parameters related to stakeholders during the implementation of mandates, India feels that it is equally important to incorporate performance of all stakeholders involved from the formulation of mandates such as framing of prioritised, sequenced and achievable mandates, aspects related to ensuring a fair and transparent selection process and dissemination of realistic training guidelines.