Asians rank first in number of soldiers

Recent developments related to UNIFIL have once again put the spotlight on the contributions that various countries make to peacekeeping operations. Nepal, India and Bangladesh alone have sent just over 16,000 soldiers. While, according to data from three years ago, the United States, China and Japan are the ones that contribute the majority to expenses.

Milan () – The Israeli attacks against the UNIFIL (United Nations interim forces in Lebanon) mission have once again put the focus on United Nations peacekeeping interventions and the contribution that each country makes to the missions individual. The five soldiers who were injured come from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the latter present in Lebanon with nearly 1,200 soldiers, the largest contingent, followed by Italy.

Indeed, Asian and then African countries contribute the most in terms of troops and police forces, while the United States and some European countries, along with China and Japan, collaborate mainly on an economic level. Peacekeepers are paid by their respective governments, who in turn receive reimbursement from the United Nations at a standard rate set by the General Assembly (about $1,428 per soldier per month).

The data of the United Nations on peacekeeping missions (at this time there are 11 active, which in 2024 cost just over 6 billion dollars), show that, until July of this year, only Nepal, India and Bangladesh have sent about 17,500 people abroad, of which just over 16,000 are soldiers. Along with the troops, in fact, police personnel, mission experts and other members of the coordination team, who often dress as civilians, also participate in the missions.

Nepal ranks first in number of soldiers and personnel with 6,119 citizens, and is followed by Rwanda, with 5,876 people, of which 4,679 are soldiers. China ranks eighth in terms of personnel employed, with 1,801 citizens (of which 1,711 soldiers), behind Indonesia, Ghana and Pakistan.

The United States, on the other hand, has only committed 25 citizens – according to July data – most of whom are in the Central African Republic (in the mission called MINUSCA, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic ) and in South Sudan (with UNMISS, United Nations Mission in South Sudan) with mission staff and experts. Only one of them is a member of the police, deployed in Haiti with the BINUH mission (from French, Bureau Intégré des Nations Unies en Haïti).

Australia and Japan also do not have military personnel deployed outside the country. Canada sent 9 members of the Police to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Italy, in addition to the contingent of around a thousand soldiers in Lebanon, deployed 4 police officers to Cyprus. France, for example, has also sent 566 soldiers to the Cedar Country and 2 police officers to the Congo. In this sense, UNIFIL represents a small exception: For historical reasons, soldiers from 50 countries continue to be deployed, including many Europeans, although, after the Indonesian and Italian contingents, the States that contribute the most are India, Nepal, Ghana and Malaysia, and only then Spain and France They are ahead of China.

Reducing the number of soldiers participating in conflict zones has been a constant trend for years in Western countries, although peacekeeping operations do not require soldiers to take sides for or against one of the parties in the field, who must give their consent for a mission to be sent. On the contrary, UN mandates provide for engagement only for self-defense in the event of direct armed attacks.

In spending termsHowever, the situation is reversed: according to data from 2020-2021 (the budget evaluations are published every three years), the United States contributed 27% to peacekeeping missions, China with 15% and Japan with 8%, followed by Germany (6.09%), the United Kingdom (5, 79%), France (5.61%), Italy (3.30%), Russian Federation (3.04%), Canada (2.73%) and Republic of Korea (2.26%).