A landmark round table on the peacekeeping role of Central Asia was held in Kazakhstan

On May 31, the Center for Peacekeeping Operations of the Ministry of Defense (KAZCENT) held the first regional round table on the contribution of Central Asian countries to peacekeeping activities in Almaty.

The event brought together representatives of Tajikistan, the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan, UN staff, the UN Office for Women, the International Committee of the Red Cross and local universities. The participants discussed issues of international humanitarian law, gender aspects, the main provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) "Women, Peace, Security", as well as the role of Central Asian countries in strengthening the role of the UN as the most authoritative and universal international organization in ensuring regional security.

"Kazakhstan is carrying out significant work on establishing interaction and cooperation with countries participating in peacekeeping operations. The country's peacekeepers participate in peacekeeping operations together with representatives of different countries. We want all the countries of Central Asia to take advantage of the opportunities that Kazakhstan uses to participate in peacekeeping operations," said Herbert Laurette, representative of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the UN headquarters in New York.

He also emphasized that this event is aimed at building a partnership in training, exchange of knowledge and experience for further expansion of peacekeeping activities in the Central Asian region.

"Today we gathered to share our experience with our Central Asian neighbors, to tell them about the system of peacekeeping and language training, about how the deployment and dispatch of the first independent peacekeeping contingent was organized," said the head of the Armed Forces, Colonel Bauirzhan Nigmetullin. KAZCENT.

"We can offer to combine our efforts in training experts for UN missions and further joint initiatives to increase the peacekeeping potential of the countries of Central Asia," he added.

Kazakhstan is constantly expanding its presence in UN peacekeeping operations. The country sent its military personnel to UN missions in Nepal, Ivory Coast and Mali. Currently, Kazakh peacekeepers serve in missions in Lebanon, Western Sahara, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For 16 years, more than 600 Kazakh servicemen participated in seven UN peacekeeping missions in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Kazakhstan recently sent its first independent peacekeeping team to the Golan Heights as part of a UN mission. This marks an important milestone for Kazakhstan, representing its first independent UN-mandated peacekeeping operation. The national peacekeeping contingent of 139 servicemen was tasked with maintaining a ceasefire between the parties to the conflict in accordance with the mandate of the UN mission.

On the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, which is celebrated on May 29, several members of the Kazakhstan contingent shared their stories about what it means to be a peacekeeper in an interview with The Astana Times.