In response to an invitation from the United Nations (UN), Kazakhstan is set to deploy its first independent national peacekeeping contingent in March 2024. The contingent, comprising 139 military personnel equipped with their own military equipment, weapons, and property, will serve as a reserve company to the UN Force to Observe Disengagement in the Golan Heights mission, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense reports.
Agreement with the UN
An international agreement will be concluded with the UN to define the obligations of the parties, as well as issues of financial and logistical support for the contingent’s participation in the mission.
The contingent will include seven women who will serve alongside male military personnel. These women will fulfill various roles, including two riflemen serving as nurses, one sniper, two cooks, and two medical workers.
Approval by the Parliament
The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan has approved the deployment of military personnel, not exceeding 430 individuals, to participate in several UN missions. These missions include the UN Golan Disengagement Observer Force, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO, Palestine-Israel), the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS, South Sudan), and the Interim Force “UN Security and Abyei” (UNISFA, Sudan).
Kazakhstan’s History in UN Missions
Since 2014, 67 Kazakh officers have participated in UN missions in Western Sahara, Ivory Coast, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Lebanon. Since 2018, 538 Kazakh military personnel have served in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon mission as part of a peacekeeping unit. Currently, six Kazakh officers in Western Sahara, two officers in the Central African Republic, two officers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and nine military personnel in Lebanon are serving in UN missions.
Training of the Contingent
Ruslan Zhaksylykov, a representative of the Ministry of Defense, stated:
Kazakhstan’s Role in the UN
Kazakhstan has been a full member of the UN since March 2, 1992. Throughout this time, the republic has been fruitfully interacting with the UN system and demonstrating its full commitment to the goals and principles of the Organization’s Charter. As a member of the UN, Kazakhstan, along with other states, bears responsibility for maintaining peace and security on the planet.
Recent UN Inspection
Recently, a UN inspection team conducted a comprehensive inspection of the state of the material and technical base and the level of training of Kazakh military personnel. Based on its results, the Organization’s experts noted the high level of training of the personnel of the peacekeeping contingent of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the professionalism of the instructors of the Center for Peacekeeping Operations.
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