Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force

During the past year, of the 110 countries that sent uniformed personnel to United Nations peacekeeping missions, the leading contributors were Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, which together constitute more than 40 per cent of United Nations peacekeepers (ARSG, 2007). Participation of Bangladesh Armed Forces in the Peacekeeping mission for more than a decade from Europe, Africa, Central America, Middle East, and Fareast earned not only reputation for Bangladesh but also familiarized the name and flag of the country to the world where it was not familiar at all. As on September 2007, more than 11,000 peacekeeping members from Bangladesh committed to UN Peacekeeping operations around the world, which help Bangladesh to stand in the top position in the contributing list at present. Bangladeshi peacekeepers are serving in 13 countries across the globe. There are specific HR functions associated with the UN mission, which includes the Recruitment & Selection, Training & Development through BIPSOT (Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation and Training), Compensation Administration provided by both Bangladesh Government and also the United Nations. Bangladesh has achieved numerous glories in the field of UN mission; however, it has also been cursed over the years with unexpected deaths of members mainly due to accidents and wars. The future of Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force is indeed brilliant and it is necessary to understand what is important at this stage. Analyze the need for changes in the Armed Forces in its training and organization with its capability to suit different peacekeeping missions in different regions under different UN resolution. In the light of the aforementioned issues concerning the organizational, operational, national, and international perspectives of peacekeeping work, some ideas may be projected for a better way forward. The article would also shed light on the SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) Analysis of the Bangladesh UN Mission abroad highlighting various HR initiatives and Challenges. Since Bangladesh will continue to provide support to the international community in peacekeeping operations for indefinite future, an updated perception to such role may help in playing the role more efficiently and effectively. The consequent part of the article will provide alternatives, recommendations and implementation strategies for enhancing the efficiency of the UN peacekeeping system as well as Bangladesh Armed Forces. The alternatives will include the establishment of policies for advancement, elimination of various barriers and continuous improvement processes of Bangladesh UN Mission such as political issues in the recruitment, upgrading the technological base of the Bangladeshi armed forces and creating a proactive approach towards staff development in order to meet UN demands from time to time.

Although Bangladesh is a shining starter in UN mission, it is still blighted with various obstacles and constraints. The recruitment and selection is sometimes politically biased, and qualified senior officers are suppressed to get a mission due to their non-affiliation with a political party. The women officers are still far away from attending UN missions, Bangladesh is still young in terms of women employment in the Defense Sector. However, the preparation of women for the missions when their turn comes remains a challenge. The linguistic and cultural barriers relates to different mission are quite significant. The repatriation process needs to be taken care of as well. The expatriate officers’ family should also be given special attention, in terms of defense benefits and also maintaining the accounts of the deceased members. The technological infrastructure of the Armed Forces has to be improved in order to get a better offer in the future. Increasingly, there is a need for proactive approaches throughout the entire system of Peacekeeping Mission. In the light of above discussions and aforesaid reasons, the study should be done on this specific topic.

The objective of the article is quite clear and specific. Participation of Bangladesh Armed Forces has been involved in UN Peacekeeping for more than a decade. We are still one of the best peacekeeping force considered by UN and have already achieved a good reputation in peacekeeping globally through UN Mission. We must continue and sustain such distinction. Bangladesh must be the best and remain in top UN peacekeeping chair to lead whole world. The key objective is to find out the various problems of the UN Mission and finding the strategic plans and HR Challenges of Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force for improvement in the process. This can be pointed out as under: • To determine the various problems and drawbacks of the UN Mission.• To point out the various constraints of Bangladesh Armed Forces in UN Peacekeeping Force. • To suggest and recommend on the strategic initiatives, alternatives and its implementation for better way forward that may be undertaken by the Bangladesh Armed Forces in order to enhance the efficiency of the mission, integrate continuous improvement in the process and to create a benchmark for the rest of the world to follow.• To find out the different HR Changes that might enhance the efficiency of the Peacekeeping Force. • To suggest an appropriate institutional framework for Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Mission.

Since, Bangladesh will continue to provide support to the international community in peacekeeping operations for indefinite future, an updated perception and insight to such role may help in playing the role more effectively. This article will help finding various problems and provide alternatives, recommendations and implementation strategies for enhancing the efficiency of the process of UN Peacekeeping Mission. This article might be a role model for all UN Peacekeeping nations and would also shed light on the SWOT Analysis of the Bangladeshi UN Peacekeeping Mission. The strengths of the mission include excellent reputation, fair compensation and wide exposure and experience achieved by the officers in a Mission. The weaknesses are the political influence and biasness in selection process of the UN Mission, reactive approaches to staff development and lack of career development of the officers during UN Mission. Opportunities stretch out the integration of women advancement in the Missions, creating a benchmark and crafting a proactive approach in Training & Development. However, the threats lie in lack of autonomy in deployment and decisions, high rate of turnover amongst the repatriates of UN mission. The key HR issues involved in Peacekeeping Mission such as women advancement in future, managing the repatriates and the expatriates, and reassessing the performance of the armed forces in order to benefit Bangladesh as a whole are also discussed.

There is immense scope of the study. The study would be very useful for strategic recommendations for future Human Resources Management as well as Organizational Management for the UN Mission of a country. Further studies relating to various issues, findings and recommendations of the project may be extended in future and a unique solution to the problem may be discovered. In my report, I would address the following issues which would widen the scope of further research and investigation as follows:

• Future recommendations for UN Peacekeeping Mission. • What are the overall problems/barriers of UN Pease Keeping Mission?• What are the various administrative and operational difficulties generally faced by the Peacekeeping Forces? • How to enhance the efficiency of the UN mission, integrate continuous improvement in the process and create a benchmark for the rest of the world?• What are the strategic initiatives that may be taken by the Bangladesh Armed Force in order to enhance the efficiency of the mission?• What are the alternatives available in order to improve overall performance of the Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Mission?• The Pros and Cons of the alternatives and • Recommendation of best alternative and its effectiveness and implementation.(to be continued)