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UN chief calls for greater support for CERF

CERF has released $7.5 billion to save lives and protect people in more than 100 countries over the last 15 years since its establishment by the UN General Assembly, said Guterres….reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for generous donations to the world body’s global emergency response fund.

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is a proven success story. That is because it is constantly evolving, applying lessons learned and embracing innovation — in response to risks that are more complex, intertwined, and global, he told a hybrid high-level pledging event for CERF on Wednesday.

His address was read by Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths as the secretary-general is currently in self-isolation after he came into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thanks to the generosity of 130 donors, CERF has released $7.5 billion to save lives and protect people in more than 100 countries over the last 15 years since its establishment by the UN General Assembly, said Guterres.

Today, humanitarian needs are seven times what they were 15 years ago, he said. “We have seen prolonged conflicts worsen and new ones break out. Climate change is pushing communities to the brink of survival. And the battle with COVID-19, as we see so vividly these days, is still to be won.”

The scale of today’s crises demands a strong CERF with the resources it needs to rise to the challenge of responding swiftly at the onset of an emergency, he said.

This year has been one of the most difficult on record for humanitarian needs. But CERF has stepped up to the challenge. In 2020, CERF helped close to 69 million people — twice as many as the year before. Many of them were reeling from the impact of the pandemic, he said.

When violence escalated in northern Ethiopia, CERF released several allocations at critical moments to help save lives. In August, as Afghanistan was thrown into upheaval, CERF swiftly released funding so that UN agencies could scale up their emergency response and keep basic services running, particularly in the health sector. As acute hunger surged and the risk of famine grew for millions of people, CERF allocated funding for food assistance to some of the hardest-hit countries: Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. And CERF offered help, hope, and solidarity to those caught up in neglected crises, such as Venezuela, Cameroon and Chad, said Guterres.

CERF is indeed fast and flexible. It is one of the most effective ways to get help to people in crises, he said.

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CERF responds in hours, so humanitarian organizations can swing into action as soon as emergencies strike. CERF is principled, it is impartial, it is independent. And the help it provides is driven by need alone. CERF supports neglected crises when others do not. It listens to women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, and it prioritizes their needs. Last year, more than half of the recipients of CERF funding were women and girls. CERF is also the biggest direct donor to humanitarian programs that respond to gender-based violence, he said.

“CERF is a spark of hope in a difficult, shadowed world. Let us light that spark for the sake of our shared humanity.”

The General Assembly in 2016 endorsed the doubling of CERF to 1 billion dollars every year. This year, despite the generosity of the donors, CERF did not get close to reaching that goal, he said. “But we can do so — if member states allocate just a small percentage of their humanitarian funding through CERF each year.”

According to official figures, total contributions to CERF amount to 592.4 million dollars so far this year.

Since the 2016 endorsement of a $1-billion-dollar, contributions have never reached that goal. 2019 saw the highest contributions of $831.4 million.

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India proposes new plan to equip UN peacekeeping for challenges

India, which is the current President of the UNSC, convened the meeting from its experience of being the historically the biggest contributor to peacekeeping operations having sent about 250,00 peacekeepers of whom 174 paid the supreme sacrifice, reports Arul Louis

India on Wednesday proposed a multi-pronged plan to bring UN peacekeeping operations to the 21st century by deploying technologies to face the evolving threats.

“UN peacekeeping simply cannot afford to cede the information advantage to those actors determined to undermine prospects for peace by using modern technology to aid their violent cause,” India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at a Security Council debate on technology and peacekeeping.

“Twenty-first century peacekeeping must be anchored in a strong ecosystem of technology and innovation that can facilitate UN peacekeeping operations in implementing their mandates in complex environments. Because the nature of peacekeeping missions and their attendant threats have become more complex, it is vital that our capabilities to secure the peacekeepers keep pace,” he said.

Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that new technologies “pose unfamiliar and profound threats, as seen most clearly in the online proliferation of violent extremist ideologies, increasingly prevalent cyber-attacks, and deadly vaccine misinformation. Emerging technologies are also blurring the lines between war and peace”.

Citing a need for acknowledging the new threats, he said: “States and non-state actors are carrying out malicious acts that fall below commonly understood thresholds for the use of force yet may still have devastating impact.”

He added that it was, therefore, essential that UN peacekeeping “fully embraces the digital world in which we live, to improve the UN’s agility, anticipation and responsiveness to conflicts, and to be able to address the challenges of today and tomorrow”.

India, which is the current President of the Council, convened the meeting from its experience of being the historically the biggest contributor to peacekeeping operations having sent about 250,00 peacekeepers of whom 174 paid the supreme sacrifice.

The UN is introducing a technology-enhanced facility, UNITE Aware Platform for its peackeeping operations to provide realtime information to personnel.

Jaishankar said that India is supporting the rollout of the UNITE Aware Platform, which would enable an entire peacekeeping operation to be visualised, coordinated, and monitored on a real-time basis.

“We should ensure that any attack on a peacekeeper or a civilian is predictable, preventable, or responded to immediately,” he said.

These are Jaishankar’s four-point programme for 21st century peacekeeping:

  • Focus on operationally proven, cost-effective, widely available, reliable and field-serviceable technologies.
  • Deploying a sound information and intelligence foundation to provide early warning and mobilisation of early response with precise positioning and overhead visualisation of mission environments.
  • Ensure that technological improvements are continuous and are available on the ground, “in the gear peacekeepers carry and the weapons and tools they use”.
  • Provide consistent training and capacity building of peacekeepers in the realm of technology needs attention and investment

“India is committed to long term engagement with the UNC4ISR Academy for Peace Operations in Entebbe, Uganda, to meet the training needs, link it with available technological capability, and shape future requirements,” Jaishankar said.

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135 Indian peacekeepers honoured with UN medals

About 135 Indian and 103 Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving in the mission were awarded for their service….reports Asian Lite News

Nearly 135 Indian peacekeepers deployed with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have been honoured with UN medals for their “outstanding performance.”

India is among the largest troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions.

“Take a bow, people of #India! Some 135 of your peacekeeping troops, based in #SouthSudan and serving with #UNMISS, have received @UN medals for their outstanding performance in Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area,” the UN Mission in South Sudan said in a tweet on Monday.

About 135 Indian and 103 Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving in the mission were awarded for their service.

“My heartfelt congratulations to all these officers for their contributions towards the fulfilment of the UNMISS mandate in this challenging environment,” UNMISS Force Commander Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar said, according to a news article released by the mission.

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The article noted the Indian troops are stationed in Bor, Pibor and at a temporary operating base in Akobo and have engaged in a variety of activities, including civil-military cooperation such as a veterinary camp.

In carrying out their duties, the Indian peacekeepers have also dealt with the “often-violent” reality in a volatile part of South Sudan, often plagued by inter-communal violence. Flooding and the resulting displacement of thousands of people have further complicated matters,” the UNMISS news article said.

Sector East Commander Brigadier General Deepak Kumar Baniya voiced admiration for the military personnels’ desire to achieve peace. “The price of peace is sometimes very high,” he said. (INN)

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India calls for safety of UN peacekeepers

India has emphasised that “Protecting the Protectors” should be the primary objective, reports Asian Lite News

Noting that the issue of safety and security of peacekeepers requires a comprehensive approach and concerted efforts by all stakeholders involved, India at a United National Security Council (UNSC) debate on Monday called for looking at the issue both holistically and in a sustained manner.

“We need to look at the issue both holistically and in a sustained manner. India, in keeping with its time tested credentials and commitment to UN Peacekeeping would never be found wanting in this regard,” said India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, K. Nagraj Naidu.

Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate, ‘Peacekeeping Operations: Improving safety and security of peacekeepers’, Naidu drew attention of the Council to the increasing casualties of UN peacemakers over the years.

“UN peacekeepers operate in a complex security environment involving armed groups, non-state actors and terrorists. The ever-expanding mandates of peacekeeping missions with limited resources has only added to the challenges and complexities that peacekeepers face on the ground,” he stated.


Pointing out that the strategy of peacekeepers needing to do more with less, is setting us all up for a potential crisis, Naidu noted that the fallout of such a strategy is glaringly evident in the increasing casualties over the years.

“These challenges are compounded further by the increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by terrorists and armed groups against peacekeepers. The blue helmets, who are currently operating in 13 peacekeeping missions, are under tremendous pressure,” he warned.

Emphasising that “Protecting the Protectors” should be our primary objective, Ambassador Naidu informed that more than 260 peacekeepers have died due to malicious attacks since 2013.

Making suggestions for the Council’s consideration, Naidu urged for putting an end to the tendency of burdening peacekeepers with responsibilities which ought to primarily lie with the host state or other relevant international organisations.

Highlighting that peacekeeping missions cannot be a long-term response to what are fundamentally political problems, the Indian Deputy Permanent Representative stated that it is for the Council to address these issues rather than burden peacekeeping missions beyond their mandate.


He said while a number of initiatives have looked at Improvising Explosive Devise Disposal (IEDD) measures in the field, we are of the view that this problem needs more attention.

Ambassador Naidu suggested that missions facing IED threats should have dedicated resources to counter this particular threat and the training of UN personnel on IED threats, both in-country and prior to deployment, needs to be more context specific.

He stressed upon the need for concerted efforts to upgrade the security infrastructure of camps of UN peacekeepers as a number of casualties have been related to direct attacks on security camps.

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Terming timely and reliable medical evacuation and casualty evacuation, including the use of helicopters with night flight capability and night retrieval operations as essential, Naidu said Force Commanders should be given the direct authority for commanding such air assets to respond in a timely manner to crisis situations or accidents.

Stressing upon that peacekeepers need to be provided full access to medical facilities, in accordance with the golden hour principle, throughout the mission area, he reiterated India’s pledge of a helicopter unit for MINUSMA.

“We have also upgraded our medical facilities at MONUSCO (Goma) and UNMISS (Juba),” he mentioned.

Of the belief that infusion of appropriate technology can play significant role in improving the safety and security of the peacekeepers, Ambassador Naidu called for the use of field-focused, reliable and cost-effective new technologies in peacekeeping operations that are driven by practical needs of end users on the ground is the need of the hour.

He informed the Council, in this regard, India in partnership with UNDPKO Department of Operational Support has been has working towards development of mobile tech platform – UNITE AWARE.

India has contributed US$ 1.64 million toward the project that seeks to develop mobile tech platform that helps increase situational awareness and provides terrain related information to peacekeepers, the Indian representative added.

Calling the training of UN peacekeepers as an essential and strategic investment in peacekeeping, he informed the Council that India’s Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) is looking forward to signing an MOU and partnering with the C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations (UNCAP) to prepare training modules on a range of capabilities.

Besides taking preventive measures to improve the safety and security of peacekeepers, it is also imperative to bring the perpetrators who committed heinous crimes against them, to justice, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative said.

“This needs collaboration and coordination between different stakeholders, including the UN and the host countries where the peacekeepers are deployed and extending assistance to countries who need help to frame these legislations,” he suggested. (INN)

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