May 29th is International Peacekeepers' Day

(Vatican Radio) May 29th is the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The annual recurrence is held to recognize the work and sacrifice of the men and women who help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace. This year, International Peacekeepers’ Day is dedicated specifically to the theme of innovation and technology in the service of peacekeeping.

Click below to listen to Chris Altieri's report

The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the UN, Edmond Mulet told UN Radio that peacekeeping practices and mission profiles have been rapidly changing over the course of recent decades, new challenges to the achievement and maintenance of peace emerge. “This is why the theme talks a lot about the future, what peacekeeping can do for the future,” Mulet said. One example of successful employment of new technologies is the use unarmed, unmanned vehicles (UUAVS), Mulet explained. “[UUAVS] are flying in the Democratic Republic of Congo with incredible, positive results,” he said, adding, “we would like to bring these new technologies of satellite imagery, better communications that will improve the work we do in the field on the ground.”

Mulet went on to say that UN peacekeeping forces need to develop more partnerships, especially with regional and sub-regional organizations, especially in Africa, since such organisations are usually the first responders to crises on the continent.

More than 120 countries are presently contributing their military and police personnel to serve UN missions in the field. India and Pakistan are the largest contributors in terms of numbers of troops, though recent years have seen countries like Vietnam, which had never before contributed troops, begin to do so.