More than two million men and women have served on more than 70 UN peacekeeping missions since 1948, 12 of which are still active today. Peacekeepers monitor peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist with the implementation of peace agreements and the protection of civilians.
The UN states that Bangladesh was the top contributing country in terms of personnel deployed globally as of May 2023 with 7,278 peacekeepers, while Nepal provided the second largest contribution with 6,231 and India ranked third with 6,089. There were 76,694 uniformed personnel deployed worldwide on peacemissions, the majority of whom (65,607) were troops.
While richer nations such as the United States (27.89 percent), China (15.21 percent), Japan (8.56 percent) and Germany (6.09 percent) contribute the most money to peacekeeping operations, this chart highlights their relative absence when it comes to sending people on these sometimes deadly missions. According to analysts at PassBlue, reasons it is generally poorer countries of the Global South who are sending the most personnel include not only financial benefits (the countries supplying peacekeeping soldiers are paid per person), but also cases of regional cooperation, recognition and prestige.
UN peacekeeping missions are carried out by the General Assembly, the UN Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the host governments. The military and police personnel are members of their own national services and then are redistributed to work with the UN. According to the UN, peacekeepers must follow the three guiding principles of 1) consent of the parties, 2) impartiality and 3) they cannot use force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate. Mali revoked its consent to host the MINUSMA mission in June 2023.
While peacekeeping missions are intended to help to protect civilians, there have also been cases of accusations of sexual exploitation and abuses from peacekeepers themselves, undermining the missions and spreading distrust. At the same time, some critics are wary of the missions as vehicles to impose control in the country.
