Nigeria moves to strengthen troops for peacekeeping

Nigeria has taken measures at enhancing the performance of troops and protection of civilians during peacekeeping operations.

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali said that the Federal Government had done this through effective pre-deployment and in-mission training of troops.

Dan-Ali disclosed this in New York at the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting on Uniformed Capabilities Performance and Protection of Civilians.

A copy of the minister’s address was released to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday.

Dan-Ali also said other measures put in place to enhance troops performance and protection of civilians were zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse, clear leadership and instructions to troops as well as deployment of more female peacekeepers.

The minister assured the UN of Nigeria’s continuous commitment and support to ensure international peace and security.

Dan-Ali, however, noted that Nigeria’s participation in UN peacekeeping had declined significantly of recent, mainly due to her commitment to the war on insurgency in the North-Eastern and Sub-regional peacekeeping commitments.

According to him, a lot of successes had been achieved in the fight against terrorism.

He also said the country was in the process of demining affected areas and rebuilding destroyed communities in the North East.

“These successes have no doubt been made possible with the collaboration from International Community and countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.”

He lauded the UN for organising the meeting which he said present opportunity to discuss and generate specialised capabilities necessary for peacekeeping.

“I also want to applaud the Secretary General’s ongoing effort to strengthen peacekeeping operations through Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) Initiative with a specific focus on uniformed capabilities, performance and the protection of civilians,” he said. (NAN)