Amalgamated Nations: India has initiated the introduction of a novel database tailored to document transgressions against UN peacekeepers and oversee advancements in holding wrongdoers culpable, as conveyed by India’s UN representative Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday, underscoring that New Delhi is at the vanguard of advocating for answerability.
The unveiling of the database was disclosed during a summit of the India-led ‘Group of Friends’ (GOF) on Tuesday. “Pleased to declare the inauguration of a groundbreaking database designed to chronicle offenses against Peacekeepers & oversee advancements in holding wrongdoers accountable. India is pioneering the advocacy for answerability, guiding the Group of Friends devoted to this cause,” articulated India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Kamboj, in a communication on X.
The database is devised to function as a digital repository, empowering the Secretariat, Missions, and member states to oversee and confront instances of malevolent acts against peacekeepers, as explicated in a communiqué by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.
“This database, backed by India, is domiciled on the Unite Aware platform and is positioned to facilitate exhaustive analysis and impel efficacious strategies for promoting answerability,” it delineated.
Throughout the summit, Kamboj underscored the GOF’s advancements over the precedent year, accentuating the perspicacity garnered into obstacles encircling answerability, particularly in fortifying the rule of law within Mission zones.
She expressed assurance in harnessing these insights to enact consequential measures propelling answerability for offenses against peacekeepers.
The GOF was instigated by India in 2022 to foster answerability for offenses against the Blue Helmets during its presidency of the UN Security Council. India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco, and Nepal are co-chairs of the GOF, which encompasses 40 member states.
The GOF’s subsequent summit on Tuesday was concentrated on tactics to bolster legal frameworks against perpetrators of malevolent acts targeting peacekeepers, concentrating on supporting measures for ensuring answerability.
The summit’s agenda also encompassed a substantive discourse on furnishing legal frameworks to buttress the notion of answerability for offenses against peacekeepers.
Professor Bimal Patel, a distinguished constituent of the International Law Commission and Vice Chancellor of the Rashtriya Raksha University, imparted adept perceptions on the subject.
Member states engaged in fruitful deliberations on pragmatic methodologies to aid host state rule of law establishments in prosecuting perpetrators, ensuring justice for peacekeepers.
“The summit of the GOF at the high level serves as a testimony to the unswerving dedication of member states, spearheaded by India, towards fostering answerability and upholding the safety and dignity of peacekeepers worldwide,” the communiqué articulated.