peacekeeping

The United Nations (UN) was officially created in 1945 on October 24th. It had 50 members including the UK, the Soviet Union, USA, China, and France. Over the years, that number has grown. There are now 192 member countries, each with a vote in the General Assembly (one of the main decision making bodies of the UN).

The UN has sometimes voted to take action against some countries or get involved in certain situations. That action has sometimes had to be military. It doesn't have its own army, so if a decision is made by the UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly (the two main bodies that make decisions) then the Member States need to see the decisions through. That means that if a decision is made that would need military action, the Armed Forces of the 192 member countries need take that action in the name of the UN. Peacekeeping, is a way to help countries in conflict create the conditions for ongoing peace.

UN peacekeepers are made up of soldiers and military officers, police and civilian personnel and come from lots of different countries. Their job is to monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict situations and help groups that are disagreeing to put into action the peace agreement they have signed. This could include promoting human security, confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, or economic and social development.

The Charter of the United Nations gives the UN Security Council the power and responsibility to take action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the international community depends upon the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations. On the whole these operations are run by the United Nations. However in some cases other organizations such as European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are authorized by the Security Council to undertake certain peacekeeping activities.

There has been argument over the years about the traditional non-military approach of UN peacekeepers not being permitted to use force except in self-defense. Many saw this as a limiting peacekeepers’ ability to bring peace in the areas they were working in. Other people strongly believe that it is not the Job of UN peacekeepers to fight. As missions got more complicated and dangerous, and as attacks on UN peacekeepers happened more often, the Security Council gave permission to peacekeepers to use force when necessary to protect themselves and civilians where they were working, but that it should always be a last resort.

Check out our News section to find out what UN peacekeepers have been doing recently.