- The U.N. Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for 2023 was awarded to an Indian peacekeeper (Major Radhika Sen) deployed in Congo, for her work supporting conflict-affected communities.
| Democratic Republic of Congo Violence between the Congolese army and Rwandan-backed M23 group escalated around the town of Sake near Goma — the capital city of the mineral-rich North Kivu province in March 2024.A cycle of violence has engulfed the eastern region of DRC since the Rwandan genocide. |
The award was presented by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on May 30 as it is observed as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
- She served in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- Mr Guterres described her service as a true credit to the UN as a whole. In an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu, her troops actively engaged with humility, compassion, and dedication.
| India and UN Peace Keeping Force Since the inception of UNKPF in the 1950s, India has contributed nearly 195,000 troops, the largest number from any country, and participated in more than 49 missions.India is the second largest troop contributor [TCC] with 7,676 personnel deployed in 10 out of 16 active UN Peacekeeping Missions of which 760 are police personnel currently.Indian forces are deployed in Lebanon, Sudan, Golan Heights, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Liberia etc. |
Dig Deeper: Read details about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its link to the Rwandan Massacre.
