IN 1948, the United Nations Security Council decided to establish a field operation to supervise a fragile truce in the first Arab-Israeli war. Two weeks later, an initial group of 36 unarmed military observers arrived in the Middle East as the first United Nations (UN) peacekeepers. Almost six decades later, hundreds of thousands of individuals, the vast majority of them soldiers, have served in almost 60 United Nations peacekeeping operations. While the United Nations peacekeeping operations have seen close to 2,000 of military and civilian peacekeepers killed while in service, there continues to be a high regard for such operations, which now total 18, the latest being the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone.
Peacekeeping is a technique pioneered and developed by the United Nations that defies simple definition. It is based on the principle that an impartial presence by the United Nations on the ground can ease tensions and allow negotiated solutions in a conflict situation. Known widely as "blue helmets" or "blue berets" because of their distinctive headgear, United Nations peacekeepers have patrolled buffer zones between hostile parties, monitored ceasefires, and helped defuse local conflicts, allowing the search for durable political settlements to continue.
This "traditional" United Nations peacekeeping continues. Military personnel and structure remain the backbone of most operations. Increasingly, however, the many faces of peacekeeping include civilian police officers, electoral experts and observers, de-miners, human rights monitors, specialists in civil affairs and governance, and experts in communications and public information. Their responsibilities range from protecting and delivering humanitarian assistance to helping former opponents carry out complicated peace agreements; from assisting with the demobilization of former fighters and their return to normal life to supervising and conducting elections; from training civilian police to monitoring respect for human rights and investigating alleged violations; and from coordinating the transition of a territory to autonomous status to setting up a transitional administration of a territory as it moves towards independence.
Peacekeeping missions are perhaps the United Nation’s most visible presence in conflict zones and in areas that require UN assistance for institution building. Given the effort and impact of such operations, the UN Peace Keeping Forces were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1988.
Recognizing the importance of peacekeeping and paying tribute to the many peacekeepers, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in 2002 designating May 29 as International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The observance is a fitting tribute to the high level of professionalism, dedication, and courage of UN peacekeepers around the world and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
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