UNSC meets at India's request after death of UN Peacekeepers in Congo; condemns the attack

At the request of India, the top United Nations body, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Tuesday (July 26) to discuss the attack on UN Peacekeepers deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. India had requested for a meeting under the AOB or Any other business format immediately after it became clear that Indian personnel deployed at theUnited Nations Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of the Congodied in an attack. Two Indian UN Peacekeepers from Border Security Force (BSF) and one Moroccan peacekeeper died in the anti-UN protest in the country.

Indian external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar took to Twitter to term the attack 'outrageous' and those responsible "must be held accountable and brought to justice".

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The UNSC on Wednesday issued a strongly worded statement condemning the attack.“The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the recent attacks on the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in North Kivu, which resulted in the death of three peacekeepers from India and Morocco, as well as in injuries to peacekeepers,” the statement read.

Extending condolences to the "families of the victims and to India and Morocco", the statement underlined that "deliberate attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law."

The statement asked the Congolese Government to 'swiftly investigate these attacks and bring the perpetrators to 'justice'and "proactively enhance the understanding of MONUSCO’s mandate among the local population, counter disinformation and misinformation". At least 15 people have died in anti-UN protests in the country. Protests happened in Goma, Butembo. Goma hosts the largest UN Bases and two BSF platoons are deployed there.

Read More:Two Indian peacekeepers killed during anti-UN protest in Congo

India has been one of the major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions

India had worked with France which is the penholder when it comes to the MONUSCO mission, and the statement was tabled by both countries together. It is pertinent to note that the aforementionedpress statement called for an "update consistent with para 4(a) of Security Council resolution 2589 (2021) on measures undertaken to promote accountability for such acts."

The resolution that is mentioned was passed under the Indian presidency of the council in August last year and calls for governments to protect peacekeepers and requests for the creation of an online database cataloguing attacks. Para 4 (a)specifically mentions the need for "accountability" for acts on UN peacekeepers under domestic justice systems.

India is a major contributor to global UN peacekeeping missions and is the third largest contributor to MONUSCO with 5581 personnel. India has provided more than 200,000 military and police officers to UN peacekeeping over the last 70 years. Currently, more than 6,700 troops and police from India have been deployed in UN peacekeeping missions across the world.

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