India in collaboration with UN launches tech platform for peacekeepers

It can also provide early warning in a volatile environment.India has developed it in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support.This project aims to demonstrate the impact of modern surveillance technology on the detection of asymmetric threats.

India in collaboration with the UN on Wednesday launched a technology platform to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers who are operating in an increasingly complex and risky environments across the world.

The launch of the UNITE AWARE platform came as India assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of August.

The project, for which India has contributed USD 1.64 million, was launched in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here at the UN headquarters.

Later, in his address to the UN Security Council's open debate on Technology & Peacekeeping, Jaishanakar said that UN peacekeeping "simply cannot" afford to cede the information advantage to actors determined to undermine prospects for peace by using modern technology to aid their violent cause.

"21st-century peacekeeping must be anchored in a strong ecosystem of technology and innovation that can facilitate UN peacekeeping operations in implementing their mandates in complex environments,'' he said.

He said the international community must focus on operationally proven, cost-effective, widely available, reliable and field-serviceable technologies that must also prioritise mobility, both in the sense of agile manoeuvrability of mission assets and in the sense of the use of mobile digital/IT platforms.

He called for contributing to ensure that technological improvements are continuous and are available on the ground, in the gear that peacekeepers carry and the weapons and tools they use to enhance their mobility, performance, endurance, range, and load-carrying capabilities while guaranteeing their safety and security.

Jaishankar said that consistent training and capacity building of peacekeepers in the realm of technology also needs attention and investment.

UNITE AWARE is a situational awareness software program which utilizes modern surveillance technology and provides real-time threat assessment to improve the overall security situation of UN Peacekeepers.

It will help in increasing situational awareness and provide terrain-related information to peacekeepers.

Using the platform, the entire peacekeeping operation can be visualised, coordinated, and monitored on a real time basis.

It can record data on critical incidents and events, follow daily operational activities. Using the platform, peacekeepers can access live video and satellite imagery. It can also provide early warning in a volatile environment.

India has developed it in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support.

This project aims to demonstrate the impact of modern surveillance technology on the detection of asymmetric threats. The project aims to improve camp security for UN peacekeepers, the overall security situation, and the quality of situational awareness, the Ministry of Affairs said in New Delhi earlier.

India has partnered with the UN to roll out the UNITE Aware platform initially in four UN Peacekeeping Missions: MINUSMA (Mali), UNMISS (South Sudan), UNFICYP (Cyprus) and AMISOM (Somalia).

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)