United Nations, Dec 7 (TIWN) India has called for making the selection of peacekeepers for UN operations more stringent, emphasising professional competence in order to make them more effective.

"India believes that even while broad participation in peacekeeping is important to enhance global solidarity, there can be no substitute for professional competence of those engaged in all aspects of this global enterprise," India''s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told a high-level meeting here on Friday on improving peacekeeping operations.  India, which has historically contributed the most number of troops to UN peacekeeping operations, was one of the sponsors of the event along with the US and four other countries.  Akabaruddin said that there was a need for "minimum operational standards as a benchmark that all contingents meet when deployed" and UN members should collectively work towards establishing them.  He conceded that a "diversity in terms of deployment needs is understandable, and some variations are inevitable".  But he said that the Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) should be the "sole mechanism for the selection of a military or police unit for deployment" and those not a part of the system should be avoided "to ensure that the most ready, capable, well-equipped and willing contingents are selected for deployment".