India want more funds for peacekeeping missions

United Nations: India, the current President of the UN Security Council, has asked member states to address the "unsatisfactory situation" of paucity of resources for peacekeeping missions, saying it is a " central entreprise" of the world body.

A three-page concept note on peacekeeping circulated at the UNSC by India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri states that there is a severe mismatch between the resources and mandate of peacekeeping operations.

"The central challenge that peacekeeping missions now face is the resource gap... This is an unsatisfactory situation and a serious discussion is required on the issue of resources. The inability of the Council to address this will lead to a performance deficit on the part of UN peacekeeping missions which in turn could erode the legitimacy of this Council," sai the note titled 'UN Peacekeeping Operations: Taking Stock and Preparing for the Future'.

The current annual outlay for peacekeeping is under eight billion dollars and in some cases there is one peacekeeper for several hundred square kilometres.

Under the presidency of India, the Security Council is scheduled to hold an open debate on UN peacekeeping operations on August 26.

Puri said the concept note has been prepared in order to help steer discussions on the subject.

Noting that peacekeepers often have to make "tough moral choices" and take "life-and-death decisions in situations of legal ambiguity," India said: "effective peacekeeping requires that the men and women operate in an environment of legal certitude."