UN signs routine peacekeeping accord with Sri Lanka

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UN signs routine peacekeeping accord with Sri Lanka
The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sri Lankan government in order to "speed up the provision of resources to the UN when necessary," a UN spokesman said here on Wednesday (May 25).
Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesman, told a news briefing that the agreement recently signed between the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government "was a routine agreement, which the UN has already signed with 89 other member states."
"The agreement is meant to speed up the provision of resources to the UN when necessary," the spokesman said. "The primary responsibility of ensuring that nationals of member states meet the highest standard of integrity required for services with the UN clearly lies with member states themselves."
Sri Lanka first participated in UN peacekeeping far back in 1960 by deploying six peacekeepers in the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).
In 2004, Sri Lanka enhanced its contribution by deploying a complete infantry battalion of 950 personnel to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Sri Lanka is now a committed partner for UN peacekeeping operations with over a thousand men and women from the three armed forces and the police serving in seven different UN peacekeeping missions, and ranks 22nd in terms of troop contributions to the UN peacekeeping.
Courtesy: Xinhua