The United Nations began during the 1940s and progressed through the height of the Cold War. The United Nations was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was also the first to use the Declaration of the United Nations during World War II. Consequently, the end of the Cold War changed the United Nations forever. Since then thousands of UN member from 120 countries have been working together in UN peacekeeping operations.
The first operation was known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). This operation was the first deployed to keep problems from escalating within the Middle East. Also, the UNTSO monitors ceasefire and peacekeeping within Arab and Jewish citizens in Jerusalem. Accordingly, the UN’s peace keeping stretches across Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
The second deployed UN unit was the Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) which oversees the ceasefire in Jammu protecting India and Pakistan from dispute and to resolve fights that break out to due conflict over land.
The first UN peacekeeping involved military force, but now the backbone of the United Nations peacekeeping include everything from administration and economist to police officers to human right’s monitors and humanitarian workers.
After the Cold War, the peacekeeping operations increased immensely. In fact, from the years 1989-1994, the United Nation’s security council authorized peacekeeping operations, rising the number from 11,000 to 75,000.
Currently, The United Nations is leading 16 peacekeeping missions and 1 special mission in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the UNTSO and UNMOGIP are still in progress today. Therefore, leading other peacekeeping missions, like the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFI) which was created to keep peace between Israel and Lebanon should come as no surprise. This is especially the case since, during the 1970s, Israel invaded Lebanon over heated border control issues causing the United Nations to move in to restore peace.
Not only does the United Nations work in the Middle East but also in areas of Africa, Europe, as well as Haiti to help insure safety for humanitarians and civilians.
The United State is a top contributor to help fund the United Nations followed by: Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Russian, Canada and Spain. These nations all work together to fund these operations in order to keep peace in all areas of the world.
The United Nations continues to work to keep peace in areas with high security risks for the people who travel to and live in those areas. This indeed benefits all countries, especially the specific extra border security in those countries that are at risk.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Forward, United Nations
Photo: The Gaurdian