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Group of Friends (GoF) for Accountability of Crimes against Peacekeepers

Group of Friends (GoF) for Accountability of Crimes against Peacekeepers

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Why in News?
  • At a high-level Group of Friends (GoF) meeting held at UN Headquarters, India reaffirmed its strong commitment to ensuring justice for crimes against UN peacekeepers, referring to accountability as a strategic necessity.
Concerning the Group of Friends (GoF) for Accountability of Crimes Against Peacekeepers:
  • An unofficial forum of UN members dedicated to enhancing international peacekeeping standards and bringing justice to crimes against UN peacekeepers.
  • Launched in December 2022, when India was the UN Security Council’s president.
Membership:
  • Consists of about 40 UN members, with India serving as co-chair and supporting nations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Goals:
  • Advance legislative and policy frameworks for the prosecution of offences against peacekeepers.
  • Address impunity to ensure deterrence.
  • Maintain the integrity and legitimacy of UN peacekeeping efforts.
Essential Roles:
  • Encourage communication between governments, UN agencies, and specialists.
  • Encourage legal reforms and investigative procedures.
  • Monitor the application of UNSC Resolution 2589 (2021), which requires that those responsible for attacks on peacekeepers be held accountable.
  • Encourage the UN Secretary-General to provide updates on the progress that has been made.
Significance:
  • Essential for ensuring UN peacekeepers’ safety during dangerous missions.
  • Strengthens faith in India’s leadership in peacekeeping and multilateralism.
  • Corresponds with India’s history of providing the most peacekeepers—more than 300,000—of any nation.
  • Protects the legal rights and operational morale of employees from the Global South.
Results of the High-Level Meeting in July 2025:
  • Strategic Accountability Framing: Accountability, according to India, is not only a legal obligation but also a strategic necessity that is critical to the mission’s success and peacekeepers’ safety.
  • Fighting Impunity: The GoF reiterated that the absence of sanctions encourages additional assaults on peacekeepers, undermining international peace initiatives.
  • Reaffirming India’s Role: With the deaths of 182 peacekeepers, India demonstrated its historic leadership and promised to continue supporting the cause legally, diplomatically, and morally.