So far 176,669 peacekeepers from Bangladesh have participated in 54 out of 69 UN peace missions since 1948. The country has a total of 6,742 peacekeepers in the ongoing UN peacekeeping operations.
As many as 142,790 peacekeepers from the Army, 5,012 from the navy, 7,551 from the Air Force and 20,316 from the police have so far participated in the UN Peace Keeping Missions abroad.
Some 284 peacekeepers are women and the highest number of 35,002 troops is in Congo UN Mission alone.
The country started its journey of peacekeeping by contributing a group of officers to United Nations
Iran-Iraq Military Observers Group (UNIMOG) in 1988. For the last thirty years Bangladesh has been participating in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO) and has become one of the key contributors in establishing peace globally.
Out of the total 69 peace missions since 1948, Bangladesh has successfully participated in 54 missions. So far, 176,669 peacekeepers from Bangladesh have participated in UN mission in 40 different countries. Currently, Bangladesh is one of the leading troop contributors with 6,742 peacekeepers mostly in Africa.
Out of 22 current UN sponsored mission, Bangladesh peacekeepers are deployed in 9 peacekeeping missions in 8 different countries. Seventy two years down the line since its beginning in 1948, UN peacekeeping has evolved from comparatively small, conventional military operations to multifaceted and multinational operations. Being a country committed to peace, Bangladesh has always been keen in contributing to peace across the globe. Accordingly, Bangladesh Army also remained dedicated to the Peacekeeping Operations it was assigned with. Bangladesh Army's role in UN peacekeeping has always been applauded by the international community. Key factors that aided Bangladesh Army in gaining the global acceptance and credibility are professionalism, discipline, discharging assigned duties with impartiality, maintaining international standards vis--vis UN standards and adherence to the mandate, according to Bangladesh Army website.
Moreover, Bangladeshi people are easily moved by the misery of distressed people and hence our troops don't really hesitate to sacrifice their happiness for others. This was proved many a time in the past. In the course of peace initiatives, till May 2021, a total of 159 Bangladesh Army personnel have made supreme sacrifices while more 240 were injured.
Bangladesh has regained its position as the top country in sending troops in the United Nations' peacekeeping missions.
On July 17, Bangladesh deployed a QRF (Quick Re-Action Force) of 160 peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, regaining the first position.
Ethiopia is in the second position with 6,662 peacekeepers followed by Rwanda with 6,322 peacekeepers to the UN operations.
Nepal, India and Pakistan are in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively. Nepal has 5,682 peacekeepers, India 5,353 and Pakistan has 4,440 in total.
In November last year, the Bangladesh Police received the Best Police Unit Award for its contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The Bangladesh Formed Police Unit (FPU) Rotation 11 was awarded for providing security to the Nyala Super Camp in South Darfur in Sudan and its commendable work on capacity building of Sudan's police.
