Context

• United Services Institution of India (USI), the country's oldest think-tank established in 1870 to research and discuss national security and military matters, is organizing its annual UN Forum 2023 in New Delhi from November 21 to 22, 2023 .

Key Points

• This Forum on International Humanitarian Law and Peacekeeping will be organized in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Centre.
• It is increasingly being deployed in the sensitive situations that characterize contemporary UN peacekeeping missions like asymmetric warfare.
• The purpose of this Forum is to discuss the relevance and limitations of applying the IHL framework in UN peacekeeping operations through an interactive, multi-stakeholder approach.
• These sessions will delve into some of the contemporary issues such as protection of civilians, accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, the role of women in peacekeeping operations and leveraging technology for more effective operations.
• The Forum will include practical perspectives presented by academics and practitioners who have direct experience of addressing the challenges of peacekeeping.
• Senior officials of the Indian Armed Forces and the Ministry of External Affairs will deliver keynote addresses in this forum.

 Exam Related Facts

United Service Institution of India

• It is a think tank dedicated to the National Security and Defence Services, based in New Delhi.
• It was founded in the year 1870 by a military scholar, Colonel (later Major General) Sir Charles McGregor.
• Its objective is to promote interest and knowledge in the arts, sciences and literature of the Defence Services.

 United Nations

• Establishment : 1945
• United Nations General Assembly: Important organ of the United Nations Headquarters – New York