Following a UN Security Council debate on technology and peacekeeping, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday, 18 August, acknowledged the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan and said the Indian administration is "very carefully" following the developments.
Answering a question from PTI, he stated,
"At the moment we are, like everybody else, very carefully following developments in Afghanistan. I think our focus is on ensuring the security in Afghanistan and the safe return of Indian nationals who are there."S Jaishankar, as per PTI
He also said that the Afghanistan situation is "really what has been very much the focus of my own engagements here" and added that India's historical relationship with the Afghan people will guide its approach in the coming days.
The EAM asserted that India is presently monitoring the situation in Kabul.
"Obviously, Taliban and its representatives have come to Kabul. So we need to take it on from there," he added, news agency ANI reported.
'Peacekeeping Must be Anchored in Technology'
India had proposed a multi-pronged plan to bring UN peacekeeping operations up to pace with the 21st century by deploying technologies to face evolving threats on Wednesday.
"UN peacekeeping simply cannot afford to cede the information advantage to those actors determined to undermine prospects for peace by using modern technology to aid their violent cause," Jaishankar said at the debate, IANS reported.
"Twenty-first century peacekeeping must be anchored in a strong ecosystem of technology and innovation that can facilitate UN peacekeeping operations in implementing their mandates in complex environments."External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
He also iterated that in view of the nature of peacekeeping missions and their attendant threats becoming more complex, it is imperative the our capabilities to secure the peacekeepers keep pace.
Blurred Lines Between War and Peace
Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that new technologies "pose unfamiliar and profound threats, as seen most clearly in the online proliferation of violent extremist ideologies, increasingly prevalent cyber-attacks, and deadly vaccine misinformation. Emerging technologies are also blurring the lines between war and peace."
Citing a need for acknowledging the new threats, he said: "States and non-state actors are carrying out malicious acts that fall below commonly understood thresholds for the use of force yet may still have devastating impact."
He added that it was, therefore, essential that UN peacekeeping "fully embraces the digital world in which we live, to improve the UN's agility, anticipation and responsiveness to conflicts, and to be able to address the challenges of today and tomorrow".
The Four-Point Programme
Presiding over the Council, India convened the meeting as being the biggest contributor to peacekeeping operations historically, having sent about 25,000 peacekeepers, of whom 174 paid the supreme sacrifice.
The UN is introducing a technology-enhanced facility, UNITE Aware Platform for its peacekeeping operations to provide real-time information to personnel.
Jaishankar said that India is supporting the rollout of the UNITE Aware Platform, which would enable an entire peacekeeping operation to be visualised, coordinated, and monitored on a real-time basis.
"We should ensure that any attack on a peacekeeper or a civilian is predictable, preventable, or responded to immediately," he added.
This is Jaishankar's four-point programme for 21st century peacekeeping is:
Focus on operationally proven, cost-effective, widely available, reliable and field-serviceable technologies
Deploying a sound information and intelligence foundation to provide early warning and mobilisation of early response with precise positioning and overhead visualisation of mission environments
Ensure that technological improvements are continuous and are available on the ground, "in the gear peacekeepers carry and the weapons and tools they use"
Provide consistent training and capacity building of peacekeepers in the realm of technology needs attention and investment
"India is committed to long term engagement with the UNC4ISR Academy for Peace Operations in Entebbe, Uganda, to meet the training needs, link it with available technological capability, and shape future requirements," Jaishankar said.
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