BEING A MIL OBSERVER WITH UNITED NATIONS (UN)

Gen

1. Indian Army stands solidly
committed to assist the UN in
maint of international peace and
security with a proud history of UN
peacekeeping dating back to its
inception in the 1950s. Indian
Army has contributed nearly
1,60,000 tps, the largest number
from any country, participated in
more than 43 msns and 156
Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice while serving in UN msns. The
high stds of performance maint consistently by the Indian tps and policemen dply on UN
Msns under challenging circumstances have won them high regard worldwide.
2. It is an honour for any offr to represent his Nations Army in UN Msn. Not only
does this assignment gives an offr the opportunity to be the ambassador of his army in
an international envt, but also provides him with rich learning experience both op &
related to staff wk. In this tenure of one yr, an offr gets to serve in remote locs (Team
Sites) & various staff appts along with mil offrs & civ staff of other nationalities; thus
having gained immensely in the fd of mil knowledge and peacekeeping.
Beginning of UN Peacekeeping
3. In 1945, delegates from 50 Nations met in San Francisco to draft a charter for a
new international collective security org determined "to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war." Since 1948, the UN has conducted 67 peacekeeping ops from
Central America to Southeast Asia. For the vast majority of devastated populations
around the world, the UN has become synonymous with peacekeeping.
4. First-Generation Peacekeeping. From 1948 until the end of the Cold War
in the early 1990s, the UN developed first-generation peacekeeping. Then as now, UN
peacekeepers had to be invited by the host state and would not dply until a ceasefire
had been est. The invitation protected the sovereignty of member states, a paramount
concern for the UN, and the ceasefire provided some sign that the belligerents were
committed to resolving the conflict. Peacekeepers were dply to keep the peace, not to
restore peace or stop ongoing fighting. U.N. peacekeeping forces consisted of lightly
armed troops deployed to serve in a neutral capacity, physically interposed or inserted
between opponents. Armed only lightly and with their iconic light blue helmets, U.N.
peacekeepers monitored ceasefires and remained in the field only so long as the
invitation remained. Once an invitation was rescinded, the United Nations was obligated
by its own rules of engagement to withdraw its forces and work to fulfill its mandate by
other means.
5. Sec-Generation Peacekeeping. Sec-generation peacekeeping was born
on the fly and out of a necessity to address the far more complex nature of the ethnic
and communal violence that increasingly confronted the United Nations at the end of
the Cold War. It moved peacekeeping beyond the passive interposition role into
something far more involved and multidimensional. Post Cold War the UN confronted
an alarming proliferation of bloody and primal intrastate conflicts throughout much of the
Global South. Its first-generation model of peacekeeping now appeared inadequate and
ill-designed for these new types of clashes. The UN was forced to expand its
understanding of what peacekeeping entailed to include long-term conflict resolution.
Peacekeeping quickly evolved from a limited role of symbolic deterrence primarily
charged with monitoring an existing ceasefire to an active one that involved in-depth
conflict resolution and peace enforcement. U.N. peacekeeping crept ever closer to
peace implementation and enforcement.
Role as a Blue Helmet
6. In todays security scenario, peacekeeping became more complex and in reality
became less about keeping an existing peace and more about implementing and
enforcing an externally imposed peace.
7. Role of a mil observer or a mil contingent as part of UN depends on the mandate,
however the basic role & resp of a contingent are as under:-
(a) Protection of civ.
(b) Neutr of the armed gps.
(c) Monitor the implementation of arms embargo.
(d) Monitor, report and follow-up on HR violations and abuses, incl in the
context of elections.
(e) Ensure the protection of UN personnel, facilities, installations and eqpt
and the security and freedom of mov of UN and associated personnel.
8. Tasks which need to be performed by a Mil Observer are as under:-
(a) Plg and collecting info for Daily Sit Report, Flash Reports & passage to
UN HQ.
(b) Ptl and monitoring security sit in the AOR.
(c) Analyzing security sit and making valuable deductions.
(d) Preparing reports on various issues.
(e) Liaison and Coordination with local authorities and other UN agencies and
NGOs in fulfillment mandate in the region.
(f) Update Background Briefs.

Learning Value
9. In addn to personal & professional experience gained by an offr, there are strong

pts which needs to be implemented in our org for making it better. The same are given
as under:-
(a) RFID Driving Permits and Carlog Sys. This sys works effectively
towards reducing the No of tfc accidents and keeping eff check on speed of vehs
& logging of refueling of vehs. The same info is transmitted by the sys to the
central database enabling access at a later stg. The carlog sys has been put to
eff use in UN for many yrs. This sys if used in IA will effectively put an end to
large No of tfc related accidents, negligence towards routine maint of vehs and
FOL related malpractices.
(b) Dispatch Sys. The use of UN dispatch service for mgt of tn reqmts of the
UN pers is found to be economical and also ensures optimum utilisation of the
available vehs. The same can be emulated with appropriate mod in AHQ.
(c) Mov of Pers (MOP) Sys. The coord of the mov of pers and goods in UN
has been an eye opener as the sys exhibits complete synergy at the macro and
the micro level. The same has been facilitated by having an automated sys for
generation of MOP which ensures automatic generation of passenger list on UN
flts and processing of travel duty claims. This enables control and checking of all
mov of pers in the Msn and optimum utilisation of the tpt resources be it air/ land/
riverine tn.
(d) Extensive Use of LAN Network. LAN network (Microsoft Outlook) is
extensively used for entire official corres thereby reducing paperwork. It turns out
to be very cost effective, economical, ensures speedy completion of tasks and is
virtually a paperless office environment.
(e) Optimum Use of IT Assets. Optimum utilisation of IT eqpt like scanners,
video conference facilities, cmptrs and computerised asset mgt sys in the offices
ensures speedy completion of tasks.
(f) Share Drive. The LAN network have the facility of share drive in
which the data stored can be obs, uploaded & amended. It turns out to be very
cost effective, economical, ensures speedy completion of tasks and is virtually a
paperless office envt.
(g) Work Envt. No carriage of work to home after office hrs.
(h) Multinational Working Envt. The working culture is enriched by the
composition of the staff members from different armies of the world which helps
in better assimilation of the work-ethos of the other armies.
(j) Simplified Office Procedures. The office procedures used for
processing of claims, notfn of cas, attendance and calculation of pay and allces
etc are simple, self-explanatory and user-friendly.
(k) Comn Sys. The office works on a reliable network of comn and is
connected to even the remotest of the locs.
(l) Radio Set. The handheld Motorola sets are issued on indl basis. These
sets can be used to make radio calls and as well make call on the UN
telephones. This facilitates everyone to be connected at all times.
Conclusion
10. Over the generations the responsibilities & duties of UN have changed
drastically, but the role of a Blue Helmet still remains peacekeeping. In addn to
working in a international envt, serving in UN provides a offr with immense learning
value which can be utilised for better adm or op efficiency of our org. We as a org
should endeavour to imbibe some of the good pts of UN org to improve our efficiency.