The establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was a task of great complexity for it had no real precedent. The nearest parallel was the UNTSO mission which had some peacekeeping functions but was a much simpler operation.
Following the Israeli invasion of Egypt, the Security Council held a meeting on October 30, 1956. A draft resolution calling for the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces was proposed. However, it was not adopted because of British and French vetoes. The matter was then transferred to the General Assembly.
On November 1st, the first emergency special session of the General Assembly was called under the Uniting for Peace resolution. The General Assembly adopted resolution 997 (ES-I) which called for an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of all forces behind the armistice lines and the reopening of the Suez Canal. On November 4th, the General Assembly adopted resolution 998 (ES-I) which called for Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold to submit a plan for the establishment of an emergency United Nations Force to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities. Subsequent resolutions set forth the mandate of the United Nations Emergency Force.
The cease-fire called for by the General Assembly began at midnight Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the evening of November 7th. With the exception of a few isolated incidents, the cease-fire generally held.
Once the General Assembly had authorized UNEF, the Chief of Command General E.L.M. Burns began planning the organization of the new force. Secretary-General Hammarskjold approached several governments to obtain the required military personnel. He also initiated negotiations with the Egyptian government to secure its agreement for the entry and stationing of the force in Egypt. After discussions with the government of Egypt, Hammarskjold accepted contingents from 10 countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, India, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Offers of assistance were also accepted from the United States, Italy and Switzerland. With the approval of Egypt, an air base at Abu Suweir near Ismailia was used as the central depot for the early contingents.
The extent of the area to be covered by UNEF called for highly mobile reconnaissance. This need was met by Yugoslavia, which provided a complete reconnaissance battalion. Canada later supplied a fully equipped, light-armored squadron. Supporting units were obtained and assigned with the same urgency as those engaged in patrolling. The Indian contingent was given responsibility for the supply depot and the service institute; Canada and India provided units for transport, the Provost Marshal and signals; Norway and Canada covered the medical needs. The Canadian contingent was also made responsible for the ordnance depot and workshop, the base post office, engineering, the dental unit, movement control and air support.
General Burns and his group of UNTSO military observers arrived in Cairo on November 12th and set up a temporary headquarters there. The first UNEF units, composed of Colombians, Danes and Norwegians, arrived on November 15th and were soon followed by other contingents. By February 1957, UNEF reached its maximum strength of 6,073.
While the Secretary-General was taking urgent steps to set up UNEF, he was pressing France and the United Kingdom for an early withdrawal of their forces from the Port Said area. On December 22, 1957, the withdrawal of the Anglo-French forces was completed. However, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces took much longer. Israeli forces did not complete their withdrawal until March 1957. After the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Egyptian territory, the main objective of UNEF was to supervise the cessation of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and to act as an informal buffer between the Egyptian and Israeli forces along the Armistice Demarcation Line and the international frontier in order to avoid incidents.
On April 7, 1967, an exchange of fire across disputed farmland led to heavy shelling of Israeli villages by Syrian artillery and intensive air attacks by Israel against Syrian targets-the most serious clash since 1956. These incidents were followed by a heightening of tension in the entire region, despite appeals by the Secretary-General for restraint and the moderating efforts of UNTSO and UNEF. On May 16th, the UNEF Commander received a request from the Egyptian Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces for the withdrawal of "all United Nations troops which installed observation posts (OP's) along our borders." In response, the Secretary-General indicated that if a formal request for UNEF's withdrawal came from the Egyptian Government, he would have to comply. Despite repeated efforts, the Secretary-General was unable to persuade Egypt not to request the withdrawal of UNEF or to persuade Israel to accept the force on its side of the border. Accordingly, UNEF began withdrawing from the region.
Following the withdrawal, Secretary-General U Thant increased the number of UNTSO observers to provide a United Nations presence along the Armistice Demarcation Line. He also arranged to visit Cairo on May 22nd to discuss possible security arrangements along the Egyptian-Israeli border. However, just before he arrived in Cairo, President Nasser announced the closure of the Strait of Tiran. On June 5th, full-scale war erupted.
Source: The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, Copyright 1990 The United Nations. Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information
