UN Aware Of Photos Of Kazakh Troops Wearing UN Helmets, Conveyed Its Concern - Spokesman

The United Nations saw the photos of Kazakh troops wearing blue helmets and conveyed its concern over the misuse of UN insignia to the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan, which assured the issue has been addressed, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Monday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2022) The United Nations saw the photos of Kazakh troops wearing blue helmets and conveyed its concern over the misuse of UN insignia to the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan, which assured the issue has been addressed, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Monday.

On January 8, the Associated Press released photos showing Kazakh national soldiers during mass protests in the country wearing blue helmets with a "UN" sign, a distinctive attribute worn by the organization's peacekeepers.

"We're very much aware. We have checked on the sourcing of the photos that reportedly show members of security forces wearing UN-branded helmets in Kazakhstan in the last few days," Dujarric said.

The spokesman said any troops and police-contributing countries are to use UN insignia only when performing UN peacekeeping tasks in the context of their deployment mandated by the UN Security Council, which was not the case in Kazakhstan.

"We have conveyed our concern to the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan directly on this issue, and we've received assurances from them that this issue has been addressed," Dujarric said.

Mass protests erupted in Kazakhstan last week over a twofold hike in fuel prices. In view of the rioting and looting that followed, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a nationwide state of emergency, effective until January 19, and invited the Collective Security Treaty Organization peacekeeping forces to help bring the situation under control.