When was the united nations peacekeeping established

UN Peacekeepers were now increasingly asked to undertake a wide variety of complex tasks, from helping to build sustainable institutions of governance, to human rights monitoring, to security sector reform, to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants. Although the military remained the backbone of most peacekeeping operations, there were now many faces to peacekeeping including:.

After the Cold War ended, there was a rapid increase in the number of peacekeeping operations. With a new consensus and a common sense of purpose, the Security Council authorized a total of 20 new operations between and , raising the number of peacekeepers from 11, to 75, The general success of earlier missions raised expectations for UN Peacekeeping beyond its capacity to deliver.

These three high-profile peacekeeping operations came under criticism as peacekeepers faced situations where warring parties failed to adhere to peace agreements, or where the peacekeepers themselves were not provided adequate resources or political support. As civilian casualties rose and hostilities continued, the reputation of UN Peacekeeping suffered.

The setbacks of the early and mids led the Security Council to limit the number of new peacekeeping missions and begin a process of self-reflection to prevent such failures from happening again. With continuing crises in a number of countries and regions, the essential role of UN Peacekeeping was soon emphatically reaffirmed. In the second half of the s, the Council authorized new UN operations in:. At the turn of the century, the UN undertook a major exercise to examine the challenges to peacekeeping in the s and introducing reform.

The aim was to strengthen our capacity to effectively manage and sustain field operations. With a greater understanding of the limits — and potential — of UN Peacekeeping, the UN was asked to perform even more complex tasks. In the following years, the Security Council also established large and complex peacekeeping operations in a number of African countries:. Their service and sacrifice — frequently under harsh and dangerous conditions— has made the Blue Helmet a symbol of hope to millions of people.

Those missions consisted of military observers and lightly armed troops with monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles in support of ceasefires and limited peace agreements.

Troops and police came from a relatively small number of countries and they were almost exclusively men. Over the years, UN Peacekeeping has adapted to meet the demands of different conflicts and a changing political landscape. It ended up being, above all, engaged in bringing a raging civil war to an end and preventing the province of Katanga from seceding.

Among other important tasks may be mentioned monitoring the border between India and Pakistan, and maintaining the peacekeeping force that was established on Cyprus on account of the civil war that broke out between the Greek and Turkish populations of the island. The UN force has succeeded in creating a buffer zone between the two ethnic groups. The UN has, in these and other areas, played a significant role in reducing the level of conflict even though the fundamental causes of the struggles frequently remain.

This text was first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures.

To cite this document, always state the source as shown above. Selected Bibliography Daniel, Donald C. Hayes, eds. Beyond Traditional Peacekeeping. New York: St. Excellent essays on past, present and future of peacekeeping, with case studies and helpful appendices.

Diehl, Paul F. International Peacekeeping. Baltimore, Md. History and analysis from the period of the League of Nations, with an epilogue on Somalia, Bosnia and Cambodia. Fetherston, A. Towards a Theory of United Nations Peacekeepers. Includes history to and case studies. Harbottle, Michael. The Impartial Soldier. London: Oxford University Press, The first of his many publications on the peacekeepers.