Indian external affairs minister to chair UN meeting

India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar will today chair an open debate of the UN Security Council on using technology to protect UN peacekeepers and aid peacekeeping missions.

Specifically, India will push to roll out the UNITE AWARE platform, which aims to improve camp security and situational awareness.

While the UN currently operates twelve peacekeeping missions across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the platform will be rolled out initially in Mali, Somalia, Cyprus and South Sudan, where political infighting is undermining an already unstable ruling alliance that was formed after a brutal six-year civil war. Last month, 550 members of the South Sudanese Transitional National Legislative Assembly were sworn in as the country faces a corruption-ridden economy ahead of the first general elections in 2023 since independence.

As elections loom ahead, expect renewed violence and attacks by local militias on civilians as delays in the peace agreement and a decrease in UN state-building funds have exacerbated prolonged domestic lawlessness. While many in the country have called for the drafting and passing of a new constitution, expect minimal progress in the transition to a democratic government as the country continues under heavy military rule.

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