India is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping. Discuss how this contribution serves India's strategic interests in Africa, and the risks it poses to Indian personnel.

More than 5,000 Indian personnel serve in nine of the eleven active UN missions [1]. India has served in the Central African Republic's MINUSCA since 2014 through Formed Police Units (FPUs) and military observers [2]. Peacekeeping is now one of India's main assets in Africa. Its cost to personnel is rising as missions shrink.

Strategic interests served in Africa

• Diplomatic goodwill: CAR generally supports India's candidature at international forums [2]. This builds an African support base for India's UNSC permanent-seat bid.
• Reach into Francophone Central Africa: MINUSCA is among the missions India lists as ongoing contributions [1]. Peacekeeping gives India a presence where it has few trade or embassy links.
• Leadership of the Global South: New Delhi hosted the UN Troop Contributing Countries Chiefs' Conclave (October 2025) with 32 nations [3]. India shapes peacekeeping norms; it does not just supply troops.
• Security capacity-building: MINUSCA aims for a progressive transfer of authority to CAR authorities [4]. Indian FPUs help build local policing, the core of that handover, and lay the ground for future training partnerships.

Risks to Indian personnel

• Hostile attacks: In January 2021, Rwandan and Burundian peacekeepers were killed in CAR, and India's MEA condemned the attacks [5].
• Thinner protection during drawdown: The mission, with nearly 10,000 military personnel, is already scaling back [4]. Council members have linked the UN liquidity crisis to weaker operational capacity [6]. Fewer troops and support assets mean each remaining unit covers more ground.
• Mandate uncertainty: Resolution 2800 (2025) passed 14–0, with the US abstaining after it pushed for a shorter mandate [7]. Year-to-year renewals make it hard for contributing countries to plan deployments.
• Reputational and legal exposure: A UN report found MINUSCA's leadership failed to follow up sexual exploitation and abuse allegations [8]. Contingents serving under such missions carry the cost when local trust breaks down.

India's peacekeeping turns its military and police strength into goodwill in Africa, but drawdowns and funding gaps make the work more dangerous. India should seek a stronger voice for troop contributors in drafting mandates (Article 44, UN Charter), predictable financing, and exits tied to benchmarks. This would help peacekeeping keep advancing SDG 16 and India's ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.