New Delhi, Oct 17: India would commit troops to
peacekeeping missions only under the United Nations banner and
not under command of forces of any other country or groups of
countries, Lt Gen S S Chahal said a day after the Security
Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution for a multinational
force under US command in war-ravaged Iraq.
For any chance of success in a peacekeeping mission, a
"UN mandate was a must", Chahal, commandant of the National
Defence College said. He was addressing a meeting of military
delegations from 18 countries assembled here for 7th Asian
Regional Forum meeting, which recommended that for UN missions
clearer rules of engagement and exit needed to be formulated.
Meeting for the first time on the Indian soil, military
delegates from 10 Asean countries and its eight dialogue
partners, including China, US, Australia, New Zealand and
India, stressed that while framing rules of engagement for
peacekeeping missions minimum use of force, impartiality,
interpretability, respect for human rights and international
legitimacy and support should be worked out before deployment
troops.
While, spelling out that broadening composition of forces
in Iraq had not figured specifically at the three-day
meeting, Chahal summing up the deliberations told newsmen that
it was unanimously agreed that all peacekeeping operations
should be undertaken only under the UN banner.
Delegates from South Korean and Malaysian armed forces
said that they had already in their defence universities the
study and research into peacekeeping roles.
Bureau Report
