UN ‘bans’ 3 Indian soldiers from peacekeeping

The step comes after the Army was criticised for letting off its men lightly despite a UN Investigation report containing evidence proving the involvement of three Indian peacekeepers in the incident. While the UN expressed its inability to intervene for stricter disciplinary action beyond putting pressure, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General told a press conference in New York that the Indian peacekeepers would not be allowed on any more missions.

“I can assure you that the same peacekeepers will not be accepted in future missions,” the spokesperson, Michèle Montas, said, in reply to questions by the media over the lenient view taken of the soldiers by India. She added in all such cases, disciplinary action was taken by the country the peacekeepers represented.

However, the “ban” would not have any real impact on the Indian Army as soldiers are rarely sent on more than one peacekeeping mission in their service. A posting to a UN mission is coveted, partly due to a generous pay package doled out by the department of peacekeeping operations.

In the recent case, a UN report found three Indians, including a Lt Col, involved in the illegal detention of a local gold trader in 2006. The report said the peacekeepers assaulted and “sexually propositioned” a local resident to recover $480 that they had paid as part of a deal.