The Indian Army (IA), through the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK), India hosted the first-ever ‘Conference on Women Peacekeepers from the Global South’ at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi (Delhi) from February 24 to 25, 2025. The conference was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
- The theme of the Conference is “Women in Peacekeeping: A Global South Perspective”.
- The conference united women peacekeepers from 35 leading Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) from the Global South, senior policymakers from the United Nations (UNs).
- The conference featured sessions on topics such as addressing sexual exploitation and abuse, leveraging technology in peacekeeping, and promoting regional cooperation among Global South nations.
Key Dignitaries:
i.President of India, Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar participated and delivered the keynote address in the Conference.
ii.The UNs was represented by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General (SG) and Christian Saunders, UN Special Coordinator.
Highlights:
i.Session 1: Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: The session was moderated by Christian Saunders, UN Special Coordinator with participation by Major Radhika Sen (UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2023), Major Hind Jirari (Morocco), Colonel Simone PC Antunes (Brazil).
- The session focused on mechanisms for preventing, reporting, and addressing sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping environments.
ii.Session 2: Technology in Peacekeeping: Can We Do Better? : The session was moderated by Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Former President, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).
- Participants: Lieutenant (Lt.) General Sadhna Nair, Director General (DG) of Medical Services (IA); Brigadier Munesh Tamang, Former Sector Commander (SC), UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
- The session focused on examining how technological tools such as surveillance drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered data analysis, and real-time communication systems can enhance operational effectiveness in peacekeeping missions.
iii.Session 3: Role of Women Peacekeepers: The session witnessed the participation of Dr. Kiran Bedi, Indian Police Service (IPS) (Retired), Former Lt. Governor of Puducherry; Lt. Colonel Neha Khajuria, Political Advisor, CUNPK; Lt. Colonel Ayishetu Sandow (Ghana); Lt. Colonel Sulochana Poudel (Nepal).
iv.Session 4: Opportunities for Collaboration in Training and Capacity Building in the Global South: Lt. General MP Singh, DG Staff Duties; Colonel Samar Raghav, CUNPK; Colonel Phoung Thi Minh Nyugen (Vietnam); Colonel Dilya Akhmetova (Kazakhstan) were the speakers of the session.
v.Session 5: Promoting Regional Cooperation in Peacekeeping: The Global South Context:
- Participants: Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-SG for Peace Operations; Tshering W Sherpa, Joint Secretary (UN Political), MEA, India; Brigadier Joyce C Sitienei (Kenya); Alesi Dau (Fiji).
- Special Guest: Union Minister of State (MoS), Sanjay Seth, MoD, attended the final day of the conference as the special guest.
India’s Pioneering Role in UN Peacekeeping Operations:
i.India has been a key contributor to UN peacekeeping missions for over 70 years, providing nearly 300,000 troops across 50 missions since the 1950s.
ii.A pioneer in deploying women peacekeepers, India became the first country to contribute an all-women Formed Police Unit (FPU) in 2007, serving in Liberia until 2016.
- Dr. Kiran Bedi was the first female UN Police Advisor, serving from 2003 to 2005.
Note: As of February 2025, India has over 154 women uniformed personnel deployed in 6 ongoing UN peacekeeping missions, including 3 Female Engagement Teams (FETs) in Abyei, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan.
About Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK):
i.CUNPK is an Indian institution dedicated to enhancing India’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.
ii.CUNPK was established in 2000 by the IA, with encouragement from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and was later nurtured at the United Service Institution (USI) of India, with support from the MEA and the Armed Forces.
iii.CUNPK offers comprehensive training programs for military personnel, both Indian and International, focusing on various aspects of UN peacekeeping.
