Global Military Leadership to Convene UN Peacekeeping Chiefs Conclave in India

The Indian Army is all set to host the two-day United Nations Troop Contributing Countries’ (UNTCC) Chiefs Conclave, slated to be held in the national capital from 14 October. The conclave will bring together senior military leadership of over 30 nations that are key contributors to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Addressing the gathering during the curtain-raiser organised here, Lt Gen Rakesh Kapoor, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (IS&T), called the conclave a unique forum where the collective experience, wisdom, and commitment of militaries and nations will converge to deliberate on shared responsibilities of the international community towards maintenance of peace under the United Nations Charter.

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The DCOAS said that India, as a nation, has been at the forefront of peacekeeping ever since its early years and has always considered peacekeeping as a moral and strategic duty.

“In line with this commitment, India is amongst the leading contributors of troops for United Nations peacekeeping commencing from the 1950s till date. In the past 75 years, India has contributed over 2,90,000 peacekeepers spread across 50 missions. 182 fallen peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice. Our peacekeepers stand shoulder to shoulder with peacekeepers from across the globe, often in the most challenging and volatile environments, upholding the ideals of peace, security, and human dignity,” he added.

Stating that over the decades, India’s blue helmets have not only carried out their duties with courage and professionalism but have also earned goodwill and respect from the local populations they serve, Kapoor added that India was also the first nation in the world to deploy an All Women Police Contingent in Liberia in 2007.

“Currently, all our missions across the world have Female Engagement Teams (FETs) to mainstream women in conflict zones. Through these FETs, India is empowering local communities and has set a precedent towards gender-inclusive peacekeeping. Understanding these nuances and challenges faced by women in conflict zones, in February 2025, India conducted a conclave of women peacekeepers from the Global South, which was represented by 35 nations,” he said.

Highlighting that with the changing character of conflicts, peacekeeping is at an inflexion point, the DCOAS said, “Traditional ceasefire monitoring missions have evolved into complex multi-dimensional missions driven by asymmetric threats, cyber risks, and blurred non-state dynamics. Accordingly, India, on its part, has been a strong advocate of more explicit mandates, improved mission support, better force protection, and fair representation of troop-contributing countries in mandate formulation.”

Elaborating on the upcoming conclave, Kapoor said that plenary sessions on ‘Capacity Building and Resource Mobilisation for Sustainable UN Peace Keeping Operations’ and ‘Exploring Technology as a Leverage for UN Peacekeeping Operations’ will be conducted.

As part of the session on leveraging technology, the delegates will also get a glimpse of our ‘Atmanirbhar’ initiatives and indigenous technological solutions. The senior leadership from friendly foreign nations will also be paying homage to the fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial.

The Conclave of Army Chiefs is expected to provide meaningful outcomes. Based on the deliberations, some of the likely outcomes include forging a nuanced and shared understanding of the complex operational realities in peacekeeping missions, strengthening the consultative process and fostering collaboration to make peacekeeping more agile and responsive to ground realities, enhancing the safety and security of peacekeepers through better cooperation, and exploring avenues for leveraging technology to improve mission effectiveness and responsiveness.

Chiefs and representatives from nations across the world will attend. Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, Cambodia, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Vietnam, Rwanda, and Senegal, apart from India, are among the participating countries.