Introduction
Nepal became a member of the United Nations in 1955 and since then, has been an active participant of most UN peace operations. The participation of the Nepali Army in UN peace support operations spans a period of over a half century covering some 43 UN missions, in which over 1,32,524 personnel have participated. The army’s long association with UN peace support operations began with a modest deployment of five military observers in Lebanon (United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon) in 1958. The first Nepali contingent, Purano Gorakh Battalion was deployed in Egypt in 1974. The Nepali Army has contributed in senior appointments at UNDPKO and Force Headquarters and has also deployed military contingents, military observers and staff officers. The army has also contributed significantly through the provision of niche capabilities such as engineers, medical teams and Special Forces contingents. Their devotion to duty and excellent performance have been widely acclaimed. The Nepali Army has always accepted challenges and participated in most difficult operations. This has had a heavy toll on its personnel, and to date, 68 personnel have made the ultimate sacrifice at the alter of world peace and another 66 have been disabled.
| S.No. | Mission | Year |
|---|---|---|
1 |
UNOGIL, Lebanon (Military Observers) |
1958 |
2 |
UNIPOM, India/Pakistan (Military Observers) |
1966 |
3 |
UNEF II Sinai, Middle East (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1974 |
4 |
UNIFIL, Lebanon (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1978 |
5 |
UNMOT, Tajikistan |
1989 |
6 |
UNGOMAP I/II, OSGAP I/II/III (Military Observers) |
1989 |
7 |
UNIKOM Kuwait/Iraq (Force Commander) |
1991 |
8 |
UNMIH, Haiti (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1991 |
9 |
UNTSO, Israel , Middle - East (Staff Officer and Military Observers) |
1992 |
10 |
UNISOM, Somalia (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1993 |
11 |
UNPF/UNPROFOR, Former Yugoslavia (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1994 |
12 |
UNGCI, Iraq (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1995 |
13 |
UNTAES, Eastern Slovenia (Military Observers) |
1996 |
14 |
UNPREDEP, Macedonia (Military Observers) |
1996 |
15 |
UNOMIL, Liberia (Military Observers) |
1996 |
16 |
UNMOP, Prevalaka (Military Observers) |
1998 |
17 |
UNMIK, Kosovo (Military Observers) |
1999 |
18 |
UNOMSIL/UNAMSIL, Sierra Leone (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1999 |
19 |
MONUC, DR Congo (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1999 |
20 |
UNAMET/UNTAET/UNMISET, East Timor (Peacekeeping Troops) |
1999 |
21 |
UNFICYP, Cyprus (Force Commander) |
1999 |
22 |
UNMEE, Ethiopia/Eritrea (Military Observers) |
2000 |
23 |
MINUCI, Ivory Coast (Military Observers) |
2003 |
24 |
UNOCI , Ivory Coaste (Military Observers) |
2003 |
25 |
UNMIL, Liberia - Provost (Peacekeeping Troops) |
2003 |
26 |
UNDOF, Israel/Syria (Force Commander & Staff Officers) |
2004 |
27 |
MINUSTAH, Haiti (Peacekeeping Troops) |
2004 |
28 |
ONUB, Burundi (Peacekeeping Troops) |
2004 |
29 |
UNMIS, Sudan (Force Commander and Peacekeeping Troops) |
2004 |
30 |
UNIFIL, Lebanon (Peacekeeping Troops) |
2006 |
31 |
UNOMIG, Georgia (Military Observers) |
2007 |
32 |
MINURCAT, Chad (Military Observers and Peacekeeping Troops) |
2008 |
33 |
UNAMID, Sudan (Military Observers and Peacekeeping Troops) |
2008 |
34 |
UNAMI, Iraq (Staff Officer and Peacekeeping Troops) |
2008 |
35 |
UNMIT, Timor-Leste (Military Observer) |
2008 |
36 |
MINURSO, Morocco (Military Observer) |
2010 |
37 |
UNMISS, South Sudan (Military Observers and Peacekeeping Troops) |
2011 |
38 |
UNSMIS, Syria (Staff Officers) |
2012 |
39 |
UNISFA, Sudan (Military Observers and Staff Officers) |
2012 |
40 |
MINUSMA, Mali (Peacekeeping Troops) | 2013 |
41 |
MINUSCA, Central African Republic (Military Observers and Staff Officers) | 2014 |
42 |
UNSMIL, Lybia (Peacekeeping Troops) | 2016 |
43 | UNMHA, Yemen (Military Observer) | 2019 |
Present Participation
As of 1st Jan 2021, the Nepali Army has deployed across 12 missions around the world. As a troop contributing country, Nepal ranks fourth in the world. Currently, Nepali Army has some 5129 soldiers including 168 female soldiers serving in 12 different missions around the globe. Nepal has a commitment to provide up to 10,000 peacekeepers should the UN so request.
|
SN |
Mission |
Country |
Total |
Staff Officer |
Military Observer |
Total |
Rem. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
MONUSCO |
Congo |
701 |
11 |
12 | 899 |
|
|
MECH. BN |
|||||||
|
ENG COY |
175 |
||||||
|
2 |
UNMISS |
South Sudan |
700 |
43 |
7 |
1750 |
|
| SIB |
|
||||||
|
FRB |
850 |
|
|||||
|
HRC |
150 |
|
|||||
|
| |||||||
| 3 | UNISFA |
4 |
3 |
7 | |||
|
4 |
MINURSO |
Western Sahara |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
5 |
UNTSO |
Israel |
|
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
6 |
UNIFIL |
Lebanon |
850 |
13 |
863 |
Non MSA Staff-8 |
|
|
7 |
MINUSMA |
Mali |
140 |
16 |
2 | 158 |
|
|
8 |
UNDOF |
Syria |
136 |
13 |
|
399 |
|
|
FHQ Support |
|
||||||
|
ENG PL |
30 |
|
|||||
|
Mech Inf. |
188 |
|
|||||
| Level- 1 (+) Hospital | 23 | ||||||
| CPU | 9 | ||||||
|
9 |
MINUSCA(MP) |
Central African Republic |
120 |
11 |
5 |
736 |
|
| MINUSCA(HRPB) | 600 | ||||||
|
10 |
UNAMI |
Iraq |
77 |
|
|
77 |
|
|
11 |
UNSMIL |
Libiya |
230 |
|
1 |
231 |
|
| 12 | UNMHA | Yemen | 1 | 1 | |||
|
Total |
4979 |
113 |
37 |
5129 |
|
||
Present Participation as of 1st Jan 2021
* Total Women Participation 1528
* Current Women Participation 168
BIRENDRA PEACE OPERATIONS TRAINING CENTRE
The requirement for United Nations Peace Support Operations related training along with institutional memories brought back from all these missions resulted in the establishment of a training Centre in Panchkhal in 1986 on an ad hoc basis. In January 2000, an international multi platoon training exercise “Ex Shanti Prayas-I” co-sponsored by US Pacific Command was organized in this Centre, which paved the way to turn the ad hoc Centre into the full fledged “Birendra Peace Operations Training Centre” (BPOTC) with a mission to provide a nucleus of expertise within the Nepali Army, responsible for the development of Peace Support Operations.
More information of BPOTC can be found at www.bpotc.mil.np