“UN Peacekeeping missions and contribution of Kazakhstan” round table

UN Regional Resource Centre at the al-Farabi KazNU International Relations department and the UN Department of Public Information in Almaty held a round table devoted to the International UN peacekeepers day. Former Kazakh peacekeepers, the United Nations representatives, leading experts in the field, as well as students of al-Farabi KazNU, KIMEP and Alma University took part in the discussion.

The theme for the 2016 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Honouring our Heroes.” The Day offers a chance to pay tribute to the Blue Helmets’ invaluable contribution to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 3,400 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 128 people from the last year. Today, more than 124,000 military, police and civilian personnel are deployed in 16 peacekeeping operations on four continents.

During round table the chief research fellow at KISS under President of the RK Dubovtsev Georgy Fyedorovich, who is specializing in the military-strategical theme, made a comprehensive report about Kazakhstan’s role in UN Peacekeeping efforts. “The increased role of international peacekeeping as a way of settling armed conflicts down has been proved in military doctrines of the Republic of Kazakhstan, that were adopted in 2000, 2007 and 2011 years. The peacekeeping operations are considered there as one of the implementation forms of armed forces, other troops and military units”. The expert notes that “in addition to strengthening the country’s international authority active peacekeeping operations are of great importance for the promotion of military-political positions and interests of Kazakhstan in international affairs, as well as ensuring its national security”.

The nature, conditions and forms of participation of Kazakhstan in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security operations are defined through the international legal standards, through the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in particular, the law "On the peacekeeping activities of the Republic of Kazakhstan" dated 15 June 2015, through international commitments, treaties and agreements signed by our country. Dubovtsev G.F. also put forward a number of initiatives which Kazakhstan should promote for the further improvement of peacemaking.

The speech of the Colonel Ruslan Bazarbekovich Zhakupov greatly impressed students. He shared with the practical side of peacekeeping activity. The Colonel has been engaged in the UN peacekeeping missions several times and told the students about his personal experience, what are the stages of the Kazakh military to become a peacemaker, and what major qualities are necessary for this: "On the peacekeeping mission the best military stuff is selected. Competition sometimes consists of about 130 people for one place. It’s not sufficient to know just English or other official UN languages, to have a high physical training, but also it is very important to be considerate and aware of the culture of the country where you are going to restore peace. Each peacekeeper in parallel acts as a messenger of a country, so it is very important to understand the level of responsibility that is entrusted to you, not only by the United Nations but also the homeland”.

At the same time, Colonel Zhakupov described the activities of the training center "Partnership for Peace", which deals with pre-training officers to peacekeeping missions: "Our training center is the

only one in Central Asia, officially recognized by the NATO. Today KAZCENT is recognized by the international community as a source of increasing the operational capacity and compatibility of KAZBRIG peacekeeping brigades, and as the Center for promoting cultural awareness about Central Asian and inter-ethnic tolerance”.

Students, in turn, asked questions with a high interest about the role of women in peacekeeping missions, how to become accepted to peacekeeping mission, about the funding sources, and so on. Summarizing the meeting, dean of the International Relations Faculty, Shakirov Karimzhan Nurumovich, took the initiative to hold such a plan of meetings of students, professors, civil society and the military community on a regular basis not only for the purpose of informing about the activities by the military structures, and in particular the peacekeepers, but also a potential hiring of university graduates who are interested in the military field.

It should be noted that the International Day of Peacekeepers is celebrated on 29 May 2002, in accordance with Resolution № A / RES / 57/129 of the UN General Assembly. Under peacemaking meant the use of a multinational force under UN command to control and resolve conflicts between countries. Peacekeeping operations fulfill the role of a neutral third party to establish and maintain the ceasefire and the establishment of a buffer zone between the warring parties. Each year, the celebration of UN peacekeepers reminds us of the importance of stability and security issues throughout the world.