United Nations lost 58 peacekeepers in 2013

UNITED NATIONS LOST 58 PEACEKEEPERS IN 2013

New York, US - The UN lost 58 military, police and civilian peacekeepers last year, who were working to bring peace and stability to parts of the world, a report of UN staff union has said.

PANA in New York on Friday reports that the Staff Union said working for the United Nations had became more dangerous last year, with at least 58 personnel targeted by terrorists and insurgents.

It noted that the highest number of casualties occurred in attacks targeting the UN in South Sudan, Somalia and Sudan's Darfur region.

It said 33 peacekeepers and 25 civilians and associated personnel were killed in 2013 while working for the organisation, stating that the number represented an increase in the death toll from attacks on UN staff members compared with the previous year, when 37 UN personnel were killed.

The union cited the horrific assaults on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which resulted in the killing of 12 people during an ambush on 9 April 2013 in Jonglei State, South Sudan.

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York said about 30 peacekeepers were escorting a civilian convoy when they were ambushed by some 200 armed, unidentified men near the settlement of Gumuruk.

The firefight that followed killed five Indian peacekeepers, two national staff and five contractors.

The report also said overall, 16 peacekeepers were killed in Darfur, seven in South Sudan, four in Mali and four in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In addition, it said, five civilian staff members, four of them working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), were killed in Syria.

The Staff Union’s overview comes just months after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to UN member states and host governments to support all measures of safety and security measures to improve the operational environment for UN personnel and humanitarian workers.

Ban stated: 'United Nations personnel serve in an increasingly dangerous environment and encounter a variety of threats not previously encountered in the history of the organisation.'

He cited a UN report released last year, which said: 'Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations workers showed that significant security incidents affecting UN staff in 2012 increased to 1,793 compared with 1,759 in 2011.'

The report also stated that violent acts were cited as the primary cause of death or injuries during 2012, with 20 of the 35 deaths attributed to this, while 15 staffers were killed in safety-related incidents.

United Nations seeks 850 Nepal Army personnel for South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS SEEKS 850 NEPAL ARMY PERSONNEL FOR SOUTH SUDAN

The United Nations Secretariat has requested the government of Nepal to dispatch 850 Nepal Army personnel to be deployed as peacekeepers in the crisis-ridden South Sudan .

The request was made after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called up Interim Election Government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi last week. Nepal is the sixth largest troops contributing nation to UN peacekeeping operations with 850 peacekeepers from Nepal Army and Nepal Police currently in deployment under the UN peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss). The fighting in South Sudan , which gained independence after secession from Sudan in 2011, erupted on December 15. Thousands of people are estimated to have died in the violence and some 180,000 others have been driven from their homes, up to 75,000 seeking refuge on the bases of Unmiss. The mission has been authorised by the Council to almost double its armed strength to nearly 14,000 in an effort to protect civilians. "We have received a request from the UN Secretariat in New York. As per the recent UN Security Council resolution, there is a need for additional 5,500 peacekeepers in South Sudan ," Foreign Ministry spokesman Deepak Dhital said.

The UN has sought Nepal Army personnel as peacekeepers. "We are holding consultations and will take a decision soon," added Dhital.

The government has not taken any decision on the matter so far. A proposal has been forwarded from the Foreign Ministry to the Defence Ministry for consideration.

Though Nepal has soldiers ready to be dispatched, the problem is in arranging for Armoured Personnel Carriers for their deployment.

Six days ago, at least four Nepali peacekeepers were injured in an attack in the young country. Nepal has contributed more than 100,000 troops and police personnel for international peacekeeping. Nepal has conveyed its willingness to provide up to 5,000 military peacekeepers at the request of the UN. The country has a stand-by arrangement with the UN for 2,000 troops for peacekeeping purposes.

So far, 68 Nepali peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives for the cause of world peace and security while serving in the UN peace missions.

UNITED NATIONS CHIEF BAN KI-MOON SEEKS MORE PAKISTANI TROOPS

UNITED NATIONS CHIEF BAN KI-MOON SEEKS MORE PAKISTANI TROOPS

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has spoken to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and several other leaders as he seeks to bolster the United Nations Force in South Sudan to protect civilians from worsening violence in the country, his spokesman said on Tuesday on 24-12-13.

The United Nations chief has proposed reinforcing the United Nations mission in the Republic of South Sudan with 5,500 more peacekeepers as well as additional assets. The mission currently has 7,000 troops and police in the country.

“On the situation in South Sudan, the secretary general has been speaking to many leaders, reaching out for their support for bolstering the capacity of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country to allow it to do its utmost to protect civilians and for stepping up efforts to find a political solution to the crisis,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Besides the Pakistani leader, Ban has spoken with Chairperson of the African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Dessalegn, President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, President of Malawi Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda, President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister of Nepal Khil Raj Regmi.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict in South Sudan, including some 45,000 now seeking protection at UNMISS bases. Pakistan is the largest troop contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world.

UN PEACE IN DARFUR A LONG WAY OFF AND NO DECISION YET TO SEND PEACEKEEPING FORCE TO SYRIA

UN PEACE IN DARFUR A LONG WAY OFF

UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (UPI) -- There is "a long way to go" before sustainable peace comes to the people in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, a U.N. envoy said.

Ibrahim Gambari, the head of a peacekeeping mission led jointly by the African Union and the United Nations, said the people of Darfur have suffered for too long. Significant challenges remain for sustainable peace, however. "There remains a long way to go," he told members of the U.N. Security Council. "What progress has been made remains fragile and is easily reversible should we lose focus."

Gambari said he was working with regional leaders in an effort to persuade Sudanese leaders to return to the negotiating table. The International Criminal Court in 2009 issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges in Darfur. The United Nations estimates that at least 300,000 people have died since 2003 as a result of fighting between rebel forces and the government-backed Janjaweed militia.

The Sudanese government arrested a member of an opposition group recently for alleged ties to rebel groups in Darfur. Khartoum, meanwhile, was criticized for its crackdown on student protesters expressing frustrating with a deteriorating economic situation. Gambari added that "many provisions" from previous peace deals for Darfur "remained unimplemented."

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NO DECISION YET TO SEND PEACEKEEPING FORCE TO SYRIA

KUCHING -- The Malaysian Armed Forces have not decided yet whether to send a peacekeeping force to Syria, which is currently experiencing violent turbulence. Defense Minister Datuk Seri Dr.Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the decision to send a peacekeeping force there would also depend on the stand of the United Nations Security Council.

"The situation in Syria at the moment is still uncertain. If there is a request, we are prepared to send a team of observers but this will also depend on the cabinet's decision," he said after breaking fast with about 700 members of the MAF at the Solahuddin Al-Ayyubi Mosque, Penrissen Camp, here, today.

Ahmad Zahid said since the country's independence, Malaysia had been able to send about 25,000 members of its security forces to countries torn by internal strife, winning trust and high recognition from the United Nations. He said the success of Malaysia's peacekeeping forces was not limited to security operations in the turbulent countries but also included community welfare programmes organized. 

LIBERIA: NO LARGE FORCE NEEDED

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says Liberia no longer needs large troops presence, hinting improved security, but it needs continued support in building its political institutions, according to UN News Service.

He underlined key areas--security and the rule of law.

Ban, in his latest report on the U.N. Mission in Liberia, recommended a tiered reduction in the peacekeeping force in Liberia from 4,200 troops to 3,750 troops by 2015. The U.N. Mission in Liberia is ensuring the sustainability of a 2003 cease-fire that ended a civil war in the country that left around 150,000 people dead.

Liberia doesn't need a substantial peacekeeping force, but political institutions need continued support, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

In April, Edmond Mulet, assistant U.N. secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told a multilateral panel that UNMIL was considering a "very careful" handover of security responsibility to Liberian forces. Ban said while Liberia isn't faced with significant military threats to its national security, there are lingering concerns about political development.

"Building credible and effective institutions, particularly in the security and rule of law sectors, will require progress in overcoming the root causes of the country's conflict, including structural inequalities," he states in his report.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf secured a second term in office last year after fending off a strong challenge by former diplomat Winston Tubman. The vote went to a runoff, however, as Sirleaf failed to secure the majority needed to score an outright victory.

Violence marred the period between the two votes, however, as Tubman's camp complained of bias in the country's national election commission. "Building credible and effective institutions, particularly in the security and rule of law sectors, will require progress in overcoming the root causes of the country's conflict, including structural inequalities," Ban states in his report.

UN MISSION IN SYRIA CONTINUES TO SET UP DEPLOYMENT: SPOKESMAN

UNITED NATIONS, May 11 (Xinhua) -The UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) on Friday continued to step up its deployment on the ground, despite a series of blasts hit different cities of the Middle East country, which has been plunged into a crisis since March 2011, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"On Friday, the mission had 145 observers and 56 civilian staff deployed in Syria," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing. "The mission is also carrying out patrols, one day after the attacks that took place in Damascus."

A powerful explosion went off near the ruling party headquarters in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Friday evening, reports said. This blast is the second following the May 5 explosion in the city, killing at least five people.

On Thursday, two suicide blasts rip through Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, killing 55 people in an attack that targeted a military intelligence building as employees were arriving at work, reports said.

"On Thursday afternoon, in a press statement, the members of the Security Council condemned those attacks in the strongest terms and expressed their deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the victims and their families," the spokesman said.

With a total mandated strength of 300 unarmed military observers and additional civilian staff as required, the UN mission continues to receive new members on a daily basis as it expands its presence across the Middle East country.

Despite the ongoing, but decreased violence in parts of Syria, the United Nations is working very hard to bring all the 300 unarmed observers into the Middle East country by the end of May, Herve Ladsous, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We are working very actively on this, and we will actually achieve full deployment before the end of the month," Ladsous said.

U.N. Seeks More Recruits to Monitor Truce in Syria

The top United Nations Peacekeeping official said Tuesday, 1st May, 2012 that Syria remained troubled by appalling violence more than two weeks into the first deployment of cease-fire monitors there and that his organization had recruited only about half of the 300-member contingent he hoped to station in the country.

The official, Hervé Ladsous, the undersecretary for peacekeeping operations, also said Syrian authorities had not yet removed their heavy weapons from population centers, as required under the cease-fire plan, and had not granted a United Nations request to allow the monitors to use helicopters for rapid mobility in the country, where an antigovernment uprising is now in its 14th month.

Still, Mr. Ladsous said, the monitors who first began arriving in Syria in mid-April, now totaling 24, have helped to reduce some of the worst mayhem in the country simply by their presence. He also expressed confidence that a full deployment of all 300 monitors would be completed by the end of the month.

“Commitments are coming in, very solidly, but we are not yet at the 300 mark,” Mr. Ladsous said. “I think we have something like 150 solid commitments, which are already being processed. But we need more from member states.”

Mr. Ladsous spoke at a news conference at the United Nations headquarters that was intended to provide an update on the progress made since the first peacekeeping monitors were sent under the cease-fire plan negotiated by Kofi Annan, the joint special envoy from the United Nations and the Arab League.

But much of what Mr. Ladsous said appeared to reflect a lack of progress in helping to tame a conflict that has left more than 9,000 dead since March last year, when dissidents inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia first began protesting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. He responded with a harsh military repression that has become more like a civil war.

“The level of violence in Syria has been appalling,” Mr. Ladsous said. He repeatedly called on all sides in the conflict “to ensure that the cessation of violence is indeed observed.”

He declined to specify whether one side or the other was more at fault, saying “the important fact is that the violations have come from both sides.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Ladsous said monitors had observed the Syrian military’s armored personnel carriers, “a number of howitzers and other military equipment” that remained in position, contravening an important element of the cease-fire plan.

Mr. Ladsous spoke as more violence was reported in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition group with a network of informants in Syria, said that 10 people were killed — 9 of them from the same family — when a government mortar shell struck a village near the northern city of Idlib. Six others were killed in Homs and four in Hama, the observatory reported. It also said that 12 soldiers had died in a clash with army deserters in the eastern town of Deir el-Zour.

The government and the opposition blamed each other for assaults on Monday in Idlib and elsewhere, including a bombing aimed at the Central Bank headquarters in Damascus, with mutual accusations of subverting the United Nations peace plan. They also published divergent tolls, with government news media saying that in Idlib 9 had died and 100 had been wounded.

The human rights observatory said 20 people had died in Idlib, most of them members of the security services.

Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Neil MacFarquhar from Beirut, Lebanon. Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, and Alan Cowell from London.