Keeping
the Peace, the UN Mission
The United Nations has worked to maintain
peace in various countries since its creation in 1948. The duty to provide
peace is detailed in the United
Nations Charter. Under the Charter its purpose is to:
To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to
take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats
to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches
of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with
the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement
of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of
the peace.
The Charter establishes a Department
of Peace Keeping under the control of the United Nation Security
Council which is handed to the council through Chapters VI and VII
of the Charter. Chapter VI impowers the Security
Council to step in and settle disputes, or aide in the settlement of
these disputes. Under this chapter it is the councils duty to step in when
the disputes start to threaten the maintaince of international peace and
security. The United Nation forces that enter these areas are being sent
to observe, monitor, supervise, or verify cease-fire and related agreements.
the forces work to prevent the conflicts from futher outbreaks and to assure
that settlements are permanent. the rules of engagement allow the troops
to fire only is self-defense. William Durch saw how the United Nation peace-keepers
use force is:
What constitutes appropriate self-defense will vary by mission,
but because they are almost by definition outgunned by the disputants they
are sent out to monitor, any recouse to force must be calibrated to localize
and defuse, rather than esculate violence.
The following map is a map of all the current UN mission. Several of
these missions are explained in detail which are UNTSO,
UNIIMOG, UNTAG,
& UNTAC.
As of date the United Nations peace-keeping forces have been involved
in twenty six peace-keeping missions. Several of these missions have been
pivitol to the shaping of the United Nations and to several countries that
these missions have affected.
The United Nation Truce Supervision Organization or UNTSO
was the first peace-keeping mission executed by the United Nations. UNTSO
was centered in the Middle East and started as a response to the Arab-Israeli
War in 1948. The UN Truce Supervision Organization was born is
May of 1948 when the Truce Commission, seeing that the cease-fire was not
moving smoothly, formally asked the Security Council to send military observers.
The council decided to send in a mediator by the name of Count Folke Bernadotte
from Sweden to supervise the truce talks. The resolution that was derived
from the truce was resolution 50 which was the back bone of the United
Nation Truce Supervision Organization. The Mediator requested twenty one
observers to be sent to the area from the countries on the Truce Commission
being Belguim, France, and the United States. The observers were to take
orders from only the United Nation authorites. The countries involved in
the conflict had made it clear to the UN that they would ensure their safety
and freedom of movement of the observers. As time progressed in 1949, UNTSO
main responsibility changed to assist the parties in supervising the application
of the General Armistice Agreement. The UN Truce Supervision Organization
was key to the cease-fire operations in 1956, 1967, and 1973. UNTSO effects
the countries of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Syrian Arab Republic.
Even following the wars of '56, '67, and '73 the United Nations did not
call for the removal of the military observer force, instead the function
of the observers was changed to accomadate. Still remaining in the Middle
East the observer forces act as arbitrators and sort of go betweens so
that when a conflict does arise the military observers can contain and
prevent the conflict from spreading. At the presenet time the United Nation
Truce Supervision Organization is still in operation. The observer forces
are made of the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belguim,
Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand,
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, and the United States.
BACK to map
In 1988 the military observers were sent to the Middle
East. This new Middle East mission was called the United Nation Iran-Iraq
Observer Group or UNIIMOG.
The Council recalled the provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations, and in particular the obligation of all Member States to settle
their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international
peace and security and justice are not endangered. Finally it determined
that there existed a breach of the peace as regards that is was acting
under Article 39 and 40 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Under UNIIMOG the observers were to oversee the cease-fire and to ensure
that all opposing forces would retreat to within their own regonized boundaries.
The forces were sent to the area following the eight years of war between
Iran and Iraq. Spere headed by negotiations prompted by the Secretary-General
and the foriegn ministers from Iran and Iraq a cease-fire agreement was
reached.
... as a first step towards a negotiated settlement, Iran and Iraq
observe an immediate cease-fire, discontinue all military actions on land,
at sea and in the air, and withdraw all forces to the internationally recognized
boundaries without delay; it requested the Secretary General to dispatch
a team of United Nation observers to verify, confirm and supervise the
cease-fire and withdrawl ... it urged that prisoners of war be released
and repatriated without delay...
The United Nation Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group proved to be a
success and the military observers forces were removed in 1992.
BACK to map
The United Nations Tranistion Assistance Group in Nambia
or UNTAG was started in 1989 as a result of seventy years of a culmination
of pressure to enable the inhabitants of the area to live in peace. The
settlement that was proposed was a sort of working arrangement in which
it would not recognize the South African presence Nambia, but it allowed
South Africa to administer elections, as long as they were supervised by
a UNTAG representative. The contact group in Nambia stated:
.. the Proposal addressed all elements of resolution 385, but "the
key to an internationally acceptable transition to independence is free
elections for the whole of Nambia as one political entity with an appropiate
United Nations role." All other elements of the proposal were intended
to facilitate the central objective of a democratic exercise in self determination.
On January 16, 1989 the Security Council inacted resolution 629 and
made the date of activation to be April 1st. Under resolution 629 it was
called for that the South African police prescence be reduced and that
a report be made regarding resolution 435,
this resolution was the definitive plan for Nambian independence. UNTAG
had the job of monitoring the cease-fire, monitor the reduction and removal
of the South African military, ensure the South West African Police carried
out their duties correctly, and to ensure that a change occurred in the
Nambia political arena. UNTAG was successful in securing a safe election
in Nambia ant it wwas instrumental in making it the United Nations most
political mission as well ws the most demanding. BACK
to map
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
or UNTAC was prompted by the Paris 
Accord
of October 1991. In November of that same year military, civial administration,
and a electoral survey team went to Cambodia to establish a base of operation
for the UNTAC operation. On Febuary 28, 1992 Boutros Boutros-Ghali approved
the implimentation of the United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia.
The forces were to consist of:
... twelve infantry batialions of roughly 850 soilders each, other
assorted military forces including sector and headquarters staff, an engineering
unit, a miltary observer group, a signals unit, a military police company,
a logistics batialion, and a naval unit. It also was to have an air support
group to operate and maintain ten aircraft and twenty-six helicopters.
The factions' forces were estimated to have 300,000 modern weapons and
80 million rounds of ammunition that would be subject to UN custody.
With the forces ready for deployment the task of the United Nations
forces had to be set. UNTAC 
forces
were being sent to supervise refugee repatriations, observe the cease-fire
and demobilization, educate the voters regarding elections, develop a human
rights program, control the five areas of civil administration being defense,
foreign affairs, finance, information, and public security, and the final
task of the United Nations Transitional Authority in 
Cambodia
was to coordinate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia. The
force became operational as of the 15th of March and immediatly went to
work. UNTAC absorbed the forces working under UNAMIC and upon the remained
in Cambodia until it created the
Constitution for the Kingdom of Cambodia and the formation of the new government.
The forces operationing under United Nations Transistional Authority in
Cambodia felt that their mission was complete and the troops were removed
as of September 1993. BACK
to map
So in conclusion the United Nations has tried
its best to deal with the problem of keeping world peace and through their
peace keeping missions they have tried to accomplish this.
Towson
State Public Policy
Created by James Ward
UNTSO