New York, July 15 -- India has reiterated its firm commitment to ensuring accountability for crimes committed against United Nations peacekeepers, calling it a "strategic necessity" for global peacekeeping operations.

Speaking at a high-level meeting of the Group of Friends (GoF) for promoting accountability for crimes against peacekeepers held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador P Harish, highlighted the "tremendous obstacle " faced by UN peacekeepers while working.

"United Nations peacekeepers face tremendous obstacles while working in increasingly dangerous areas. But for the most part, these crimes continue to go unpunished. This lack of accountability sev...