India, which is among the largest troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping, on Wednesday said that drawdown of peacekeeping missions should not be driven by the temptation for austerity, cautioning that the cost of relapsing is always much higher than the short-term savings.
Addressing the UN Security Council open debate on UN Peacekeeping Operations - Transitions, held under Ireland's current Presidency of the 15-nation Council, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi said the drawdown of a UN Peacekeeping Operation and its reconfiguration into a minimal modified UN presence represents a critical phase for the success of a UN Peacekeeping Mission.
"For the host country, on one hand this signals progress towards political stability and new development opportunities; but on the other hand, it also presents a real risk of the country relapsing into conflict," she said during the event.
"UN Peacekeeping Missions have been playing an important role in bringing about peace and stability in countries of deployment, despite numerous operational challenges. One of the major operational challenges that continue to hamper Peacekeeping operations has been the transition phase from peacekeeping to peacebuilding," she added.
India is the largest troop contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations in cumulative terms since their inception, having deployed more than 250,000 peacekeepers across 49 UN missions.