The Philippines has committed to deploy an additional 100 police officers to serve in the United Nation’s peacekeeping operations in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The Philippine Mission to the United Nations reported to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that it has already informed the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) of the Philippine government’s intention to send 100 more officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to aid the UN African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Ambassador Hilario Davide, Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN, said the deployment highlights the government’s commitment to help find a solution to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Davide said the Philippine participation in UNAMID will bolster the standing of the country as one of the largest provider of individual police officers to UN peacekeeping operations.
The UNAMID is touted to be the biggest UN peacekeeping operation ever assembled by the UN.
As of the end of April 2008, UN statistics showed that PNP officers account for 274 of the 627 Filipino peacekeepers deployed in various UN mission areas abroad. The additional 100 officers will support the 42 already deployed to Darfur earlier this year.
With the new commitment, UNAMID will host the largest number of Filipino police officers, overtaking the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) where 131 PNP officers are presently serving. The remaining Filipino police peacekeepers are assigned in UN missions in Afghanistan, Cote d’ Ivoire, Darfur, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal, Sudan and Timor Leste.
In addition to individual police officers, the Philippines has 23 military and staff officers and 330 troops serving in the UN peacekeeping missions in Cote d’ Ivoire, Darfur, Liberia, Sudan and Timor Leste, putting it in the list of the top 30 troop/police contributing countries.
Davide said the deployment was in response to the request of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon during a meeting with President Arroyo at the 62nd UN General Assembly in September and on the meeting between UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Jean Marie Guehenno and DFA Secretary Romulo in New York in November.
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