Bangladesh continues leading the way

[The Ronin]

In terms of numbers, Bangladesh, which accounts for 7.8% of total 82,445 personnel, and Ethiopia are followed by Rwanda, Nepal, India and Pakistan

As the world observes 70th anniversary of the United Nations peacekeeping operations on Friday, Bangladesh continues to lead the efforts of the global body to maintain peace and stability in different troubled parts of the world.

As of April 30, Bangladesh is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations out of about 120 participating countries. With 6,434 personnel, including some females, it is slightly behind Ethiopia that has contributed 6,656 personnel. These numbers include military troops, police, UN military experts on missions and staff officers.

In terms of numbers, Bangladesh, which accounts for 7.8% of total 82,445 personnel, and Ethiopia are followed by Rwanda, Nepal, India and Pakistan

For the last decade, Bangladesh was the largest contributor in 2011, 2014 and 2015, second largest in 2012, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018, third in 2019 while fourth largest in 2016. This very statistics reflects Bangladesh’s leading role in bringing about and maintaining peace in the war-torn countries.

The Bangladeshi peacekeepers are currently involved in 8 out of 13 UN peacekeeping operations across the globe. These operations are in Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen and Lebanon.

Although the peacekeeping operations began in 1948 after the Security Council authorised the deployment of UN military observers to monitor and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Bangladeshi peacekeepers started attiring blue helmets in 1988l by sending 15 observers to UN Iraq-Iran military observer group mission (UNIIMOG). Bangladesh Police joined in the next year (1989). Subsequently, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force joined peacekeeping operations in 1993.

One of the major reasons behind Bangladesh’s willingness to contribute to the world peace is the War of Independence when the nation experienced genocide, persecution, suffering, displacement, torture and horror of humanitarian crisis. The suffering of 1971 made Bangladesh understand the plight of a distressed population better.

The Constitutional obligation was another factor. The vow for establishing peace and security that emanates from the principles enshrined in the Constitution. The Preamble to the Constitution reads “We may prosper in freedom and may make our full contribution towards international peace and co-operation in keeping with the progressive aspirations of mankind.”

Besides, the national intent is clearly pronounced through the foreign policy of Bangladesh. One of the basic principles of the foreign policy is “Friendship to all, malice towards none.”

Bangladesh believes in ‘culture of cooperation’ over ‘culture of conflict’, peaceful settlement of disputes and peaceful changes in international arena.

Protection of civilians is the most important mandate of UN peace operations these days. Culturally, Bangladesh Armed Forces’ ‘Social Face’ is predominant over ‘Warrior Face’; ‘Protecting People’ is predominant over ‘Fighting Enemy’. Therefore, Bangladesh considers UN mission as probing grounds for the Armed Forces as ‘Protector of People’.

Over the last 32 years, the peacekeepers from Bangladesh were deployed in have successfully completed 54 operations in around 40 countries. A total of 146,095 personnel participated in those missions.

In bringing about and maintaining peace, Bangladeshis peacekeepers made supreme sacrifices. As of March 31, one hundred and fifty Bangladeshis laid down their lives in different missions. Twenty five Bangladeshis sacrificed their lives in the Sierra Leone operation. This is the highest number of deaths of Bangladeshis in a mission followed by 22 in Ivory Coast and 20 in Liberia.

With respect to losing peacekeepers, Bangladesh stands at the fourth place after India (170), Nigeria (155) and Pakistan (151).

Aside from the deaths, well over 200 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been injured in different missions.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangla...20/05/28/bangladesh-continues-leading-the-way

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

We should contribute more troops to UN missions, It builds a good international image for us alongside which it earns us foreign exchange and gives our troops some respite from being stuck inside cantonments.

 

[Bilal9]

We should contribute more troops to UN missions, It builds a good international image for us alongside which it earns us foreign exchange and gives our troops some respite from being stuck inside cantonments.

More important than pay is actual hands on experience on the ground in conflict zones like Darfur, South Sudan and Sierra Leone.

 

[Destranator]

Thanks to the orange buffoon UNPKOs are cash-strapped. Before the imbecile took office BD, Pak and Ind each had around 10k troops deployed.

 

[Ymir]

I've been in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu alongside Norway's peacekeepers in Mali in support of MINUSMA, can't say I saw any Bangladeshi personnel. Where in Mali are they stationed?

But good on Bangladesh. UN mission work is thankless, often dangerous work.

With 6,434 personnel, including some females, it is slightly behind Ethiopia that has contributed 6,656 personnel.

I'm guessing female peacekeepers or soldiers are a rarity in Bangladesh's neighborhood?

Apart from myself, non-combat (mostly), I saw numerous other female soldiers from participating nations assigned to UN missions Mali, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

I hope bangladesh makes a model nation for south asia and the muslims over all. Brings a smile at my face reading all good news from bangladesh.

As a pakistani this makes me very happy.

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

I've been in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu alongside Norway's peacekeepers in Mali in support of MINUSMA, can't say I saw any Bangladeshi personnel. Where in Mali are they stationed?

But good on Bangladesh. UN mission work is thankless, often dangerous work.



I'm guessing female peacekeepers or soldiers are a rarity in Bangladesh's neighborhood?

Apart from myself, non-combat (mostly), I saw numerous other female soldiers from participating nations assigned to UN missions Mali, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Actually in 2015, Bangladesh deployed its first all female peacekeeping unit in Haiti, consisting of around 160 female police officers. They even made a documentary about this, mind you Bangladesh, although quite liberal when compared to other countries in the neighbourhood, is still a somewhat a conservative society, So this deployment set a big precedent for the future. You can find out more on this here - https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/prog...-smashing-stereotypes-of-muslim-women/7513934

Besides this, Bangladesh quite regularly deploys women in non combat roles as part of the various outfits (in peacekeeping operations) but most often members of the air force or army aviation units alongside their male counterparts. Its not a large number I believe but its there and has been there for a quite a while now and I believe its on par with western deployments.

Now coming to women in Bangladeshi armed forces, until the year 2000 women could only join the army medical corps but things have changed since then and women can now serve as regular commissioned officers. As expected women have been joining the armed forces in large numbers although as per my knowledge the actual numbers are classified. However you can see female army, navy personnel during the victory parades.

In 2018, Bangladesh got its first female Major General in Dr Susane Giti of the Army Medical Corps. Here is a photo :

Perhaps some other Bangladeshi users can jump in here with the raw numbers, if they have them. I must add that Bangladesh is also one of the only Muslim majority countries to have consecutive female heads of state, In fact Bangladesh has been led by two women for the past 28+ years.

Anyways here are some assorted photos of Bangladesh's Female Service members :
(Women can serve in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Border Guards, Coast Guard, Police Force & in Ansars+VDP {Militia type force})

 

[The Ronin]

I've been in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu alongside Norway's peacekeepers in Mali in support of MINUSMA, can't say I saw any Bangladeshi personnel. Where in Mali are they stationed?

In Gao.

https://www.thedailystar.net/backpa...conflict-in-mali-peacekeeping-mission-1801468

I'm guessing female peacekeepers or soldiers are a rarity in Bangladesh's neighborhood?

Nope, Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Lankan female peacekeepers are also working in UN like Bangladeshi ones.

 

[Michael Corleone]

More important than pay is actual hands on experience on the ground in conflict zones like Darfur, South Sudan and Sierra Leone.

I think as the economy progresses the number of troops deployed will decrease, just last decade it used to be around 11k and now its 6k... in the future I reckon, officers in leadership role will be deployed more than fighting infantry

Actually in 2015, Bangladesh deployed its first all female peacekeeping unit in Haiti, consisting of around 160 female police officers. They even made a documentary about this, mind you Bangladesh, although quite liberal when compared to other countries in the neighbourhood, is still a somewhat a conservative society, So this deployment set a big precedent for the future. You can find out more on this here - https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/prog...-smashing-stereotypes-of-muslim-women/7513934

Besides this, Bangladesh quite regularly deploys women in non combat roles as part of the various outfits (in peacekeeping operations) but most often members of the air force or army aviation units alongside their male counterparts. Its not a large number I believe but its there and has been there for a quite a while now and I believe its on par with western deployments.

Now coming to women in Bangladeshi armed forces, until the year 2000 women could only join the army medical corps but things have changed since then and women can now serve as regular commissioned officers. As expected women have been joining the armed forces in large numbers although as per my knowledge the actual numbers are classified. However you can see female army, navy personnel during the victory parades.

In 2018, Bangladesh got its first female Major General in Dr Susane Giti of the Army Medical Corps. Here is a photo :

View attachment 636500


Perhaps some other Bangladeshi users can jump in here with the raw numbers, if they have them. I must add that Bangladesh is also one of the only Muslim majority countries to have consecutive female heads of state, In fact Bangladesh has been led by two women for the past 28+ years.

Anyways here are some assorted photos of Bangladesh's Female Service members :
(Women can serve in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Border Guards, Coast Guard, Police Force & in Ansars+VDP {Militia type force})


View attachment 636501 View attachment 636502

Does bd have any combat approved female unit? I always wondered if their training intensity is on par male or relaxed? Because the physical requirements are definitely relaxed

 

[mb444]

BD should send as much as possible. Every interaction brings in money and professionalises our people and connects us to the global community.

Send BDR and police as much as we can. This is a positive thing.

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

I think as the economy progresses the number of troops deployed will decrease, just last decade it used to be around 11k and now its 6k... in the future I reckon, officers in leadership role will be deployed more than fighting infantry


Does bd have any combat approved female unit? I always wondered if their training intensity is on par male or relaxed? Because the physical requirements are definitely relaxed

No idea but a small update in relation to my preceding post, going by the numbers Bangladesh ranks 3rd on the list of countries with most female operatives engaged in peacekeeping activities. So practically we're doing better than the more liberal European countries when it comes to this.

and how do you figure the physical requirements are lax?

 

[Buddhistforlife]

In terms of numbers, Bangladesh, which accounts for 7.8% of total 82,445 personnel, and Ethiopia are followed by Rwanda, Nepal, India and Pakistan

As the world observes 70th anniversary of the United Nations peacekeeping operations on Friday, Bangladesh continues to lead the efforts of the global body to maintain peace and stability in different troubled parts of the world.

As of April 30, Bangladesh is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations out of about 120 participating countries. With 6,434 personnel, including some females, it is slightly behind Ethiopia that has contributed 6,656 personnel. These numbers include military troops, police, UN military experts on missions and staff officers.

In terms of numbers, Bangladesh, which accounts for 7.8% of total 82,445 personnel, and Ethiopia are followed by Rwanda, Nepal, India and Pakistan

For the last decade, Bangladesh was the largest contributor in 2011, 2014 and 2015, second largest in 2012, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018, third in 2019 while fourth largest in 2016. This very statistics reflects Bangladesh’s leading role in bringing about and maintaining peace in the war-torn countries.

The Bangladeshi peacekeepers are currently involved in 8 out of 13 UN peacekeeping operations across the globe. These operations are in Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen and Lebanon.

Although the peacekeeping operations began in 1948 after the Security Council authorised the deployment of UN military observers to monitor and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Bangladeshi peacekeepers started attiring blue helmets in 1988l by sending 15 observers to UN Iraq-Iran military observer group mission (UNIIMOG). Bangladesh Police joined in the next year (1989). Subsequently, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force joined peacekeeping operations in 1993.

One of the major reasons behind Bangladesh’s willingness to contribute to the world peace is the War of Independence when the nation experienced genocide, persecution, suffering, displacement, torture and horror of humanitarian crisis. The suffering of 1971 made Bangladesh understand the plight of a distressed population better.

The Constitutional obligation was another factor. The vow for establishing peace and security that emanates from the principles enshrined in the Constitution. The Preamble to the Constitution reads “We may prosper in freedom and may make our full contribution towards international peace and co-operation in keeping with the progressive aspirations of mankind.”

Besides, the national intent is clearly pronounced through the foreign policy of Bangladesh. One of the basic principles of the foreign policy is “Friendship to all, malice towards none.”

Bangladesh believes in ‘culture of cooperation’ over ‘culture of conflict’, peaceful settlement of disputes and peaceful changes in international arena.

Protection of civilians is the most important mandate of UN peace operations these days. Culturally, Bangladesh Armed Forces’ ‘Social Face’ is predominant over ‘Warrior Face’; ‘Protecting People’ is predominant over ‘Fighting Enemy’. Therefore, Bangladesh considers UN mission as probing grounds for the Armed Forces as ‘Protector of People’.

Over the last 32 years, the peacekeepers from Bangladesh were deployed in have successfully completed 54 operations in around 40 countries. A total of 146,095 personnel participated in those missions.

In bringing about and maintaining peace, Bangladeshis peacekeepers made supreme sacrifices. As of March 31, one hundred and fifty Bangladeshis laid down their lives in different missions. Twenty five Bangladeshis sacrificed their lives in the Sierra Leone operation. This is the highest number of deaths of Bangladeshis in a mission followed by 22 in Ivory Coast and 20 in Liberia.

With respect to losing peacekeepers, Bangladesh stands at the fourth place after India (170), Nigeria (155) and Pakistan (151).

Aside from the deaths, well over 200 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been injured in different missions.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangla...20/05/28/bangladesh-continues-leading-the-way

Peace keeping tasks and foreign missions can be considered as a primary reason why Bangladesh have a well trained force. Back home in Bangladesh, soldiers and officers are mainly into administrative duties so foreign missions provide soldiers will challenges.

 

[Michael Corleone]

No idea but a small update in relation to my preceding post, going by the numbers Bangladesh ranks 3rd on the list of countries with most female operatives engaged in peacekeeping activities. So practically we're doing better than the more liberal European countries when it comes to this.

and how do you figure the physical requirements are lax?

It’s listed in the website and circulars

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

It’s listed in the website and circulars

Yes but quite obviously there will be discrepancies between the physical requirements for men and those for women.
Or did you compare the requirements to that of other countries?

 

[Michael Corleone]

Yes but quite obviously there will be discrepancies between the physical requirements for men and those for women.
Or did you compare the requirements to that of other countries?

I’ll round it off to Bengali women generally being smaller in frame compared to women of other countries.
I still don’t know if women are in active frontline duty.