“The UN has asked for an additional 150 men for UNIFIL and a battalion for UNDOF,” Colonel Devendra Bahadur Medhasi, deputy director of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) of the NA, said. [break]
Sating that Nepal holds the image of a “reliable contributor” to UN peacekeeping operations around the world, Medhasi said, “We have been asked to send fresh batch of soldiers as UN´s faith in NA has been reinforced by our dedicated service in peacekeeping operations for the last 50 years.”
There are currently 850 NA men serving in UNIFIL. Originally, UNIFIL was created by the UN Security Council in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese government to restore its effective authority. Following the 2006 crisis, the council enhanced the force and extended its mandate to monitoring the cessation of hostilities, accompany and support Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout South Lebanon and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian population and voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.
On the other hand, UNDOF was established in 1974 following the agreed disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan. UNDOF continues to supervise the implementation of the agreement and maintain ceasefire.
Nepali soldiers are active not only in border security, but are now increasingly contributing to medical assistance, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs, protection and promotion of human rights and in other humanitarian assistance, thereby guarding global peace and security and promoting the UN´s objective around the world.
Colonel Jagdish Chandra Pokharel from Battalion Training Center of NA said, “The NA soldiers are now working on a changed global context and therefore have assumed multidimensional role. The peacekeepers have moved away from taking upon conventional military responsibilities and are now engaged in carrying out numerous humanitarian works around the world.”
Nepal is the fifth largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. Currently, some 3,100 Nepal Army fighters are engaged in 12 missions around the world.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
Related story
Leaked picture of Australian soldiers flying Nazi swastika in A...
