Dhaka for UNGA resolution on safety of UN peacekeepers

Bangladesh has called for bringing a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers in UN peacekeeping operations.

Taking part in a high-level debate in the UN Security Council on Wednesday morning, Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Masud Bin Momen said a record number of deaths of peacekeepers took place last year.

He stressed the need for collective actions to change the situation.

He said Bangladesh will support any kind of constructive opinion, including adopting a resolution at the UNGA, to deal with the serious challenges to UN peacekeeping and for ensuring the safety and security of the peacekeepers.

Four Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed and four others injured in a mine explosion near Douentza in the Mopti region of Mali on February 28.

The UN says that 56 peacekeepers were killed in 2017, marking the highest number of deaths through violence for the international peacekeeping force since 1994.

Representatives of 72 member countries, including 15 member countries of the Security Council and regional organisations, attended the meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the chair.

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres while briefing the Security Council said UN peacekeeping faces serious challenges, particularly in four of its largest deployments -- Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.