From Cambodia to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Angola to El Salvador-the goal of the United Nations has remained constant. In the words of the UN Charter, it is "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind."
UN efforts to promote international peace and security involve three separate missions: peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace enforcement.
UN peacemaking involves the use of diplomacy and negotiation to maintain international peace and security. The United Nations pursues preventive diplomacy to reduce the likelihood of potential conflict. It also provides mediation of ongoing conflicts. For example, the United Nations provided a venue for negotiations during the Iran-Iraq War and the Falkland Islands conflict. In addition, peacemaking involves broader efforts to promote peace. This includes such efforts as arms control and disarmament, which seek to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and conventional armaments.
In contrast, UN peacekeeping operations involve the use of military personnel to maintain order in areas of conflict. These operations require the consent of the host government. UN peacekeeping soldiers, also known as "Blue Helmets," are involved in a wide range of activities including the establishment and monitoring of demilitarized zones, the supervision of disarmament and demobilization, maintaining civil order, monitoring elections and providing humanitarian assistance.
Between 1948 and 1996, the United Nations conducted 42 peacekeeping operations around the world. These operations fall into two broad categories: observer missions and peacekeeping forces. Observer missions are unarmed whereas peacekeeping forces are provided with small arms for self-defense. Peacekeeping operations are dangerous-over 1,400 peacekeepers have died in the performance of their duties. In 1992, UN peacekeepers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to promote international peace and reduce the consequences of conflict.
The first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948 to supervise the armistice in Palestine between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) was responsible for monitoring compliance with the armistice and mediating disputes between the parties. Because of the intractable nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict, UNTSO has maintained a presence in the Middle East since its formation. It is, therefore, the longest running UN peacekeeping operation.
Perhaps the most controversial UN peacekeeping operation occurred in the Congo. The United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) was established in July 1960 to provide military and administrative assistance to the Congolese government following a brutal civil war. ONUC was authorized to use force only in self-defense and was not to become involved in Congolese political affairs. However, it soon became engulfed in the highly charged political atmosphere that pervaded the country and its neutral position toward internal rivalries was soon questioned. ONUC's mission was also hampered by conflicting interests in the UN Security Council between the United States and the Soviet Union. When ONUC finally withdrew from the Congo in June 1964, it raised significant questions about the effectiveness of such peacekeeping operations.
Other notable UN peacekeeping operations include the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM), the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and the United Nations Protection Force in the Former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR).
The UN peacekeeping operation in the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR) raised significant questions regarding the future of such operations. Many criticized the UNPROFOR mission as ineffective and asserted that it contributed to the suffering and misery of the Yugoslav conflict. By failing to take an aggressive military response, the United Nations encouraged further aggression by the Bosnian Serbs. Such criticisms, however, fail to recognize the positive contributions of the United Nations peacekeeping mission. The UN peacekeepers provided humanitarian assistance to millions of refugees. They also protected them from further bloodshed. In addition, such criticisms fail to recognize that the United Nations can only succeed if member states support its operations. As noted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "member states have to think very carefully about what happened. Where were they when the international community and the United Nations needed them? Basically, the will wasn't there." Despite these comments, Annan reiterated that the United Nations must continue to pursue such missions. "I believe the UN's business is peace and security. Wherever there is a threat to international peace and security, it should concern the United Nations."
Finally, the United Nations engages in peace enforcement. In contrast to peacemaking or peacekeeping, peace enforcement involves an aggressive military response to conflict.
The first UN peace enforcement operation occurred following the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950. The UN Security Council immediately authorized member states to "furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack." The Security Council then approved a unified United Nations Command under the authority of the United States. When the Soviet Union vetoed further Security Council action, the General Assembly passed the Uniting for Peace Resolution in order to allow continued UN action. This resolution authorizes the General Assembly to act in the pursuit of peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of a lack of unanimity by the permanent members. The Korean conflict ended in July 1953 with the signing of an armistice agreement in the border village of P'anmunjom.
Another prominent UN peace enforcement operation occurred following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Within 24 hours, the Security Council passed a series of resolutions demanding the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. On November 29, 1990, the Security Council authorized the use of "all necessary means" if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. Despite extensive diplomatic efforts, Iraq failed to abide by the UN deadline. On January 15, 1991, the UN coalition, led by the United States, attacked Iraqi positions in Kuwait and Iraq. After 44 days of fighting, Iraq requested a cease-fire. As a condition of the cease-fire and armistice, Iraq agreed to accept a series of UN resolutions including the destruction of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons program and indefinite monitoring by UN observers.
In 1992, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali issued a report on UN efforts to promote international peace and security in the post-Cold War world. The report, entitled An Agenda for Peace, identified four goals that should be pursued by the United Nations: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict peace building.
Preventive diplomacy consists of action to prevent disputes from arising, to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts and to contain conflicts when they occur. Such action requires establishing confidence-building measures between states, improving fact-finding and developing early warning mechanisms to identify potential problems before they arise. It may also require preventive deployment of UN forces to discourage hostilities and the establishment of demilitarized zones to minimize the potential for conflict.
Peacemaking brings hostile parties together to resolve a dispute. It involves a wide variety of activity including resort to the International Court of Justice or other dispute settlement bodies, providing financial or humanitarian assistance to the parties or the use of sanctions. It can also involve the use of military force. Thus, the Secretary-General urged member states to make armed forces, assistance and facilities available to the Security Council pursuant to Article 43 of the Charter and to establish a UN peace enforcement unit. These peace-enforcement units would be more heavily armed than traditional peacekeeping units.
Peacekeeping involves the deployment of UN military and civilian personnel with the consent of all the parties concerned. It includes such actions as establishing demilitarized zones, supervising disarmament agreements, monitoring peace accords, providing humanitarian assistance, maintaining civil order and monitoring elections.
Finally, post-conflict peace building involves comprehensive efforts to establish support structures that will strengthen and solidify the development of peace. This may include agricultural development projects between countries, cultural exchanges, youth and educational programs. According to the Secretary-General, "these four areas for action, taken together, and carried out with the backing of all Members, offer a coherent contribution towards securing peace in the spirit of the Charter."
In January 1995, the Secretary-General issued a reassessment of An Agenda for Peace. The report was issued following the perceived failure of UN operations in Somalia and the former Yugoslavia. While the Secretary-General did not alter his conclusions regarding the need for peacekeeping and peace enforcement, he acknowledged the practical limitations facing such actions. Unless UN operations were supported by member states, they could not function effectively. Thus, the Secretary-General urged member states to provide increased financial, military and political support to UN operations.
Through these efforts, the United Nations pursues the goals set forth in its Charter, "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."
