An assessment of India's role under UN Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone

Abstract

Africa, one of the most conflict-ridden and insecure places of the world has experienced some of the most violent conflicts in the world over the last five decades. From the early 1950s and especially in the post cold war period, Africa has witnessed an increasing number of internal conflicts arising from ethnic and religious rivalries.  The conflicts have caused the increased number of failed states and regional destabilization in Africa. The ethnic strife so-called “new wars” are accompanied by a mixture of humanitarian emergencies, major human rights violations, the fall down of law and order, and the collapse of functioning governments. In response to these challenges, the United Nations (UN) launched a series of peacekeeping missions throughout the world, particularly in Africa. India participated in only one UN Peacekeeping Operation in Africa, when it served in the UN mission to the Congo (1960–1964) during the cold war period. Since the end of the cold war, India has been engaged in most of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa. The present paper sets out to explore India's role under UN Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone