Staff Reporter

Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army Lt. General Batoo Tshering led Bhutan’s delegation at the two-day United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting held in Accra, Ghana on December 5.

According to a press release from the foreign ministry states, “Bhutan’s participation at the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial in Ghana reinforces Bhutan’s commitment to the peacekeeping agenda and is in line with our desire to contribute meaningfully to the cause of peace and security.”

Bhutan also participated in a panel discussion on ‘Environmental Management Partnerships in Peacekeeping’ held on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting.

The ministerial meeting focused on protection of civilians, strategic communications (including addressing mis-disinformation and hate speech), safety and security, the mental health of peacekeepers, and women in peacekeeping. This ministerial meeting is held biennially since 2014 to strengthen peacekeeping operations.

“Bhutan has been a proud contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts since 2014 and over the years has made meaningful contributions including the deployment of the first full contingent of 180 peacekeepers to support the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission for the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in November 2022, the press release stated.

The contingent was awarded the UN Peace Medal by the United Nations for their unflinching service and significant role to peace and stabilisation efforts in the country on October 11, 2023.