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Increasing peacekeeping role via technology
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Members of the National Police’s Garuda Bhayangkara task force are inducted in a ceremony at the police training center in Bogor, West Java. The ceremony marks their deployment to United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad. (The Jakarta Post/PJ Leo)
W
e are reaching the closing of 2019, the deadline for Indonesia’s “Vision 4,000 Peacekeepers” that the government set in 2015 to contribute to the United Nations mission. Questions have been raised over whether the country has achieved sending 4,000 peacekeepers in a given time for UN deployments. The answer, for people that read the fine print of the Vision, is yes.
Indonesia has surpassed its peacekeeping contribution goal, but not per se the number of peacekeepers deployed. This is because, based on data from the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping in July, Indonesia deployed 2,790 peacekeeping personnel, lower than the deployment last November when the country stationed 3,545 personnel across UN missions. The real goal of the Vision is to place Indonesia in the top 10 countries contributing personnel to the UN, and this has been achieved since February 2016.
Pursuing a set number of peacekeepers deployed is elusive because the demand fluctuates over time. The number of deployed UN personnel heavily depends on the condition of mission areas. New or heavily armed-conflict missions, such as UN missions in Central Africa, the Congo and Mali usually require more personnel than missions that are relatively more stable and are beginning to phase out. With the wrapping up of UN missions in Cote d’Ivoire and Haiti ( 2017 ), as well as the one in Haiti ( 2018 ), the demand for personnel has reduced. Hence, Indonesia should not fixate merely on quantity.
Of course, there are benefits for Indonesia to deploy peacekeeping personnel. First, it provides the country international recognition for working together toward world peace. Second, Indonesia’s troops and police forces would gain the experience of international deployment and working in a multinational environment, making them more professional and up-to-date with global dynamics.
Third, countries contributing peacekeepers to the UN missions gain opportunities for building close relationships with people and governments in deployment areas, which could secure political cooperation or, in the case of China’s way of sending peacekeepers, economic and investment access.
However, upon returning from a workshop in New York organized by the UN Department of Peace and Political Affairs, I learned there is an opportunity for Indonesia to play a role beyond putting boots on the ground. That is to show the international world how the country uses the internet and information communication technology for peace. The workshop on how new technology can be used to advance the UN peace mandate showed the international organization’s desire to explore the use of technology for the success of peace operations.
The UN is aware of the rising use of mobile phones, satellite observation and internet access in remote areas has changed conflict dimensions, which could challenged the creation and maintenance of peace. Although this awareness has even been raised in the 2017 report titled “Improving security of UN peacekeepers”, the UN still needs to examine the best way to equip peacekeepers with adequate technology that can protect their lives and ensure mission effectiveness. According to the report, since 1948 over 3,500 peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving on a UN mission, with a quarter of those deaths resulting from violence.
