India will send 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca Vaccine) to the UN peacekeepers. on March 27, 2021 and then vaccines will be distributed to peacekeeping missions.
Highlights
Announcement to gift 200000 covid-19 doses to UN Peacekeepers was announced by External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, in February 2021. This decision was taken by considering that, UN Peacekeepers operate in such difficult circumstances. External Affairs Minister had announced this while addressing “UN Security Council open debate on implementation of resolution 2532 (2020) on cessation of hostilities” in the line of COVID-19 pandemic.
Contributions across world
India’s gift of 200,000 doses would help in administering required double doses of COVID-19 vaccines for all the UN peacekeepers across missions. As per UN Peacekeeping, a total of 85,782 personnels are serving in 12 peacekeeping operations led by Department of Peace Operations across the globe, as of January 31, 2021. So, a total of 121 nations are contributing uniformed personnel for UN peacekeeping missions. India is the largest troop contributing countries to peacekeeping missions.
UN Peacekeeping
UN Peacekeeping is a role held by Department of Peace Operations. It is a unique and dynamic instrument which has been developed by UN as a way to help conflict-torn countries in a bid to create lasting-peace conditions. This is different from peace-making, peacebuilding, and peace enforcement. The Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas. They assist ex-combatants to implement peace agreements UN peacekeepers are also called as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets. They include police officers, soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.