Indian Army pays tribute on 77th United Nations Peacekeepers Day
Lieutenant General Rakesh Kapoor, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems and Coordination), led the ceremony, laying a wreath to commemorate the 179 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty while serving in 49 UN peacekeeping missions.
Senior military officers and personnel from UN contingents attended the event, reflecting India's steadfast commitment to global peace and security as one of the largest troop-contributing nations, with over 200,000 Indian soldiers having participated in these 49 missions.
The ceremony underscored the courage, dedication, and professionalism of Indian peacekeepers, who have played a pivotal role in upholding the United Nations' ideals in conflict zones across the globe.
UN Peacekeepers Day, observed annually on May 29, marks the day when the first UN Peacekeeping Mission, 'UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)', began operations in Palestine in 1948.
The day serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by peacekeepers and India's enduring legacy in fostering international peace and stability.
The UN was founded in 1945 with the primary goal of maintaining international peace and security. Since its inception, UN peacekeeping has become a valuable tool to help countries navigate the challenging path from conflict to peace.
India has been a key contributor to global peace and security, with over 290,000 peacekeepers serving in more than 50 UN missions. Currently, over 5,000 Indian peacekeepers are deployed in nine active missions, working in challenging conditions to promote international peace.
The UN Peacekeepers, known as Blue Helmets, get their name from the light blue of the United Nations flag. In 1947, the UN decided on this colour because blue symbolises peace, while red is often linked to war. This light blue shade has since become a symbol of the UN.
In 2023, India received the UN's highest peacekeeping honour, the Dag Hammarskjold Medal, posthumously awarded to Indian peacekeepers Shishupal Singh and Sanwala Ram Vishnoi and civilian UN worker Shaber Taher Ali for their sacrifice in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (ANI)
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Also, many parcels have landed in now-inaccessible areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate, while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour. Here's a look at why the aid isn't being distributed: A lack of trust The UN says that longstanding restrictions on the entry of aid have created an unpredictable environment, and that while a pause in fighting might allow more aid in, Palestinians are not confident aid will reach them. 'This has resulted in many of our convoys offloaded directly by starving, desperate people as they continue to face deep levels of hunger and are struggling to feed their families,' said Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or Ocha. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The only way to reach a level of confidence is by having a sustained flow of aid over a period of time,' she said. Israel blocked food entirely from entering Gaza for two and a half months starting in March. Since it eased the blockade in late May, it allowed in a trickle of aid trucks for the UN, about 70 a day on average, according to official Israeli figures. That is far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed — the amount that entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. Much of the aid is stacked up just inside the border in Gaza because UN trucks could not pick it up. The UN says that it was because of Israeli military restrictions on its movements and because of the lawlessness in Gaza. Israel has argued that it is allowing sufficient quantities of goods into Gaza and tried to shift the blame to the UN 'More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organizations = more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza,' the Israeli military agency in charge of aid coordination, Cogat, said in a statement this week. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With the new measures this week, Cogat, says 220-270 truckloads a day were allowed into Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that the UN was able to pick up more trucks, reducing some of the backlog at the border. Aid missions still face 'constraints' Cherevko said there have been 'minor improvements' in approvals by the Israeli military for its movements and some 'reduced waiting times' for trucks along the road. But she said the aid missions are 'still facing constraints.' Delays of military approval still mean trucks remain idle for long periods, and the military still restricts the routes that the trucks can take onto a single road, which makes it easy for people to know where the trucks are going, UN officials say. Palestinians hold onto an aid truck returning to Gaza City. AP Antoine Renard, who directs the World Food Program's operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, said Wednesday that it took nearly 12 hours to bring in 52 trucks on a 10-kilometre (6 mile) route. 'While we're doing everything that we can to actually respond to the current wave of starvation in Gaza, the conditions that we have are not sufficient to actually make sure that we can break that wave,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Aid workers say the changes Israel has made in recent days are largely cosmetic. 'These are theatrics, token gestures dressed up as progress,' said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's policy lead for Israel and the Palestinian territories. 'Of course, a handful of trucks, a few hours of tactical pauses and raining energy bars from the sky is not going to fix irreversible harm done to an entire generation of children that have been starved and malnourished for months now,' she said. 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Ali al-Derbashi, another truck driver, said that during one trip in July armed men shot the tires, stole everything, including the diesel and batteries and beat him. 'If people weren't starving, they wouldn't resort to this,' he said. Israel has said it has offered the UN armed escorts. The UN has refused, saying it can't be seen to be working with a party to the conflict – and pointing to the reported shootings when Israeli troops are present. Uncertainty and humiliation Israel hasn't given a timeline for how long the measures it implemented this week will continue, heightening uncertainty and urgency among Palestinians to seize the aid before it ends. Palestinians say the way it's being distributed, including being dropped from the sky, is inhumane. 'This approach is inappropriate for Palestinians, we are humiliated,' said Rida, a displaced woman. Momen Abu Etayya said he almost drowned because his son begged him to get aid that fell into the sea during an aid drop. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I threw myself into the ocean to death just to bring him something,' he said. 'I was only able to bring him three biscuit packets'.
