Uganda tops Africa in peacekeeping operations

Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Uganda is the leading African nation in peacekeeping operations and one of the top three worldwide according to a new factsheet released by SIPRI, a tracker of military data, ahead of the International Day of UN Peace Keepers on May 29.

As of December 31, 2023, Uganda had 5764 troops in peace operations which are in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). The Somalia mission is the second largest multilateral peace operation with 17,711 troops slightly behind MINUSCA, the UN stabilization mission in Central Africa Republic, at 17, 719.

Topping the list worldwide was India and Nepal followed by Uganda in third position. Fourth behind Uganda were Bangladesh, followed by fellow African states Ethiopia and Rwanda.

“In 2023, 63 multilateral peace operations were active in 37 countries or territories around the world. This was one operation less than in 2022,” the SIPRI press release said.

SIPRI noted that global tensions complicated peace operations in general.

“While many multilateral peace operations were apparently able to continue business as usual, there was frequent disagreement in the UN Security Council and in the AU Peace and Security Council on the establishment of new operations and changes to existing mandates.”

The authors noted that the attention of most Western governments was on supporting Ukraine against Russia and strengthening their own capacities for collective defence and deterrence. “In particular, these governments made less military capacity and funding available for multilateral peace operations in Africa, as illustrated by the focus of the European Peace Facility on Ukraine.”