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History of United Nations Peacekeeping
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The history of peacekeeping started in the aftermath of World War II, with the formation of the United Nations. Peacekeeping, the use of neutral personnel in post-conflict areas to implement agreements between ex-combatants, was rarely even considered prior to 1945. Peacekeeping missions have taken place in the Middle East, particularly as a part of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, in the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Korea, in the Balkans, and especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
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United Nations peacekeeping was initially developed during the Cold War as a means of resolving conflicts between states by deploying unarmed or lightly armed military personnel from a number of countries, under UN command, to areas where warring parties were in need of a neutral party to observe the peace process. Peacekeepers could be called in when the major international powers (the five permanent members of the Security Council) tasked the UN with bringing closure to conflicts threatening regional stability and international peace and security. These included a number of so-called “proxy wars” waged by client states of the superpowers. As of October 2004, there have been 59 UN peacekeeping operations since 1948, with sixteen operations ongoing. Suggestion for new missions arise every year.
United Nations (UN)
UN System: General Assembly • Security Council • Economic and Social Council • Secretariat • Trusteeship Council • International Court of Justice
Programs, Funds, Agencies: FAO• ICAO • ILO • IPCC • UNCTAD • UNDCP • UNDP • UNEP • UNESCO • UNFPA • UNHCR • UNHRC • UN-HABITAT • UNICEF • UNRWA • UPU • WFP • WHO • WMO
United Nations resolutions: General Assembly • Security Council
Membership: Member states • Observers