By Zhang Guijie, Meng Zhuolin and Liu Wei
BEIRUT, August 6 (ChinaMil) -- From August 1 to 3, local time, three detachments of the 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon – the multifunctional engineer detachment, the construction engineer detachment, and the medical detachment – passed the UN equipment inspection with high standards for the first time since their deployment to the mission area.
The headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sent an inspection team to examine the above three detachments’ equipment and materials separately for three successive days.
The inspectors listened to the Chinese peacekeepers’ briefing, examined their equipment on the spot and required them to give on-site demonstrations of operating their equipment. The inspection covered three major categories – major equipment, personal equipment, and self-sustainment services – and about 20,000 pieces/sets of equipment in 30 subcategories such as barracks facilities, vehicles, weapons, power and water purification equipment, and medical equipment.
Finally, the good conditions and excellent functions of the three detachments' facilities and supplies were highly praised by the inspection team.
“This is the first time for the new batch of Chinese peacekeeping force to undergo the UN equipment inspection. Thank you for your careful preparation. You did a good job during the inspection and set high standards for the equipment inspection in the UNIFIL,” said the head of the equipment inspection team in the UNIFIL.
According to the Memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the UN and the troop-contributing countries, the UN conducts comprehensive inspection and evaluation of equipment and facilities provided by these countries once per quarter, in order to find out whether they meet the demands of peacekeeping missions. The inspection results serve as the foundation for the UN to offer financial compensation to these countries for their peacekeeping equipment and facilities.
The 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon was deployed to the mission area in May 2018. Over the following year, they will be mainly responsible for such tasks as landmine sweeping, explosive ordnance disposal, engineering construction, medical rescue, and humanitarian assistance.