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In the early 1990s, the UN was occupied in one of its largest ever peacekeeping missions in Yugoslavia. Now there’s no country called Yugoslavia. Now there’s no country called Yugoslavia. It split to give birth to six smaller independent nations.

Yugoslavia was made of six republics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. With the diverse backgrounds of the republics, each one of them started demanding more power. In 1991, Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia declared independence.

Conflict broke out when the Serbs living in Croatia set out to make a Serbian state within Croatia. Weapons were sent from the Republic of Serbia for this purpose. This led to the outbreak of conflict and that’s why the UN issued an arms embargo on Yugoslavia. This stopped arms from reaching there.

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The Gulf War began in 1991 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Iraq claimed that Kuwait produced too much oil that led to its price drop in the global market. It was in this situation that the Security Council decided to take action against Iraq. The UN also stated that the member states could use whatever means that were necessary to remove the Iraqi force from Kuwait.

In 1991, a multinational force, largely comprising the US military assembled in Saudi Arabia for an operation in the name of the United Nations. This was code-named ‘Desert Storm’. It was a bombing campaign that lasted for six weeks. Kuwait was later liberated following a cease-fire. Iraq also agreed to pay compensation to Kuwait.

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For more than twelve long years, El Salvador was reduced to a land of brutal civil war. The military government was opposed by the left wing supporters of the country and this in turn broke into civil war. The UN began peace negotiations in 1990 and a peace agreement was signed by both the parties in 1992.

It was in 1992 that the UN force, ONUSAL entered the war torn country. The force was constituted by both military and civilian personnel. The prime duty of the force was to ensure that peace prevailed in the country. It initiated a number of reforms including fair trails, and free and fair elections.

It also made sure that greater rights were granted for women and minority racial groups. The force remained in El Salvador for three years and was successful in carrying out these objectives.

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Cyprus is a Mediterranean island had been conquered and ruled by many imperial powers like the Greeks, Persians, Turks and the English. But, the population mainly practise two traditions-Greek and Turkish.

After the island gained independence, the Greek Cypriots wanted to join Greece. The Turk Cypriots did not agree to this. This led to an outbreak of conflict between the two groups. When the conflict picked up, the Security Council sent in UNFICYP, a UN force. This happened in 1964.

However in 1974, a Turkish force invaded and conquered the Greek part of the island. UNFICYP was not powerful enough to resist them. But it was successful enough to prevent a full-scale civil war.

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Korea had been under Japanese control during the Second World War. After the war, a split of opinions merged between North and South Korea. North Korea was predominantly communist while the South favoured the United States.

In June, 1950, the North Korean army invaded the South. The US President Harry Truman urged the United Nations to intervene. Following this, the Security Council decided to supply troops to resist the attack on South Korea.

It was the first time that the UN used military action to repel an attack. After securing the South, the UN army ventured North. Later, China backed the North Korean army. After a series of fights, both parties agreed to sign an armistice in 1953.

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The peacekeeping in Congo is famous for the controversies it created. This peacekeeping mission involved considerable military operations.

Congo became independent in 1960. But, the Belgian commander of Congo refused to Africanize its army. This resulted in a lot of conflicts and even mutinies. The President and the Prime Minister tried to resolve the conflict, but it didn’t work. That is why they sought help from the UN.

The United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) was formed in 1960. But, the UN’s help was criticized by many Congolese. Many believed that the UN was working for the western (Belgian) interests.

The USSR too believed so and refused to pay for the mission. The ONUC withdrew from the mission in 1964 even before the conflicts ended.

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The first peacekeeping mission was launched in 1948 in the newly created State of Israel and was known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). A conflict broke between the Israelis and the Arab states about thecreation of the new state of Israel. Though there was a ceasefire, the mission remains operational even today.

The second Arab-Israeli war broke out in 1956. This is also known as the Suez crisis and was against the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The war was between the alliance of the United Kingdom, France, and Israel, and Egypt, which was supported by other Arab nations. This resulted in the first emergency special session of the UN General Assembly.

It was the Canadian representative Lester B Pearson who brought forward the idea of a UN police force. Peacekeeping activities began with the formation of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF). They were deployed in the Suez Canal region. The UNEF policed the Egyptian-Israeli border to prevent violent events from happening.

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The UN was not able to stop wars during the Cold War. Many large and small conflicts emerged everywhere that called for serious actions. The UN kept watch over the places with tension and even arranged ceasefires. It also placed neutral troops between the hostile sides hoping to keep them from fighting each other.

Twelve observer and peacekeeping forces were sent to conflict affected areas between 1948 and 1988. Half of them were sent to the Middle East. But, the UN Security Council never tried to use force to make peace among the warring parties. As of February 2009, there have been 63 UN peacekeeping operations since 1948.

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The United Nations is responsible for world peace. However, don’t be surprised to learn that such an organisation does not have an army of its own. At times of crisis, the UN calls on its member states to provide their military service. This service is not free though. The UN pays for the military service it gets.

Though the supreme command lies with the Secretary-General, these forces have their own commanders. The first loyalty of the UN forces is to their country. They are actually on loan and can be withdrawn by the respective countries anytime. They do not form an independent UN army.

The loaned force includes soldiers, police officers and civilians. 123 countries currently provide the military troops and police forces that make up the UN Peacekeeping force. There are currently 13 peacekeeping operations led by the Department of Peace Operations.

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In simple terms, peacekeeping refers to the efforts of the UN to establish lasting peace in areas affected by conflict.

According to the UN Charter, the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security lie with the United Nations Security Council.

Peacekeeping is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations.

Peacekeepers engage in various activities like implementing the peace agreements, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. They also facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in disarmament, and protect and promote human rights. They work in most physically and politically difficult environments.

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