How successful had the UN been as a peacekeepingorganisation?



  Iran complained to the UN that Soviet troops, stationed there during WWII, were meddling in the country’s internal affairs  USSR saw this as a Cold War tactic used by the USA to oppose her Iran ( )

  Responded by claiming that Britain, USA’s ally, was also interfering in Greece’s affairs, where British troops were helping the government to fight the communist rebels Iran ( )

  Though the British & Americans in the UN Security Council were angered by this accusation, claiming it was the Greek government who requested for aid, the conflict was eventually settled between the Soviet & Iranian governments themselves  Could be considered a small measure of success for the UN Iran ( )

  1946: UN helped to arrange independence from Holland for the Dutch East Indies, which became Indonesia  No agreement made about future of West New Guinea (WNG)  Claimed by both countries Indonesia/ West New Guinea (1946)

  1961: Fighting broke out  UNO finally sent a UN force to assist in negotiations and maintain the peace  1962: Agreement by both countries that WNG to become part of Indonesia  Success  UNO integral in re-opening talks between the two parties Indonesia/ West New Guinea (1946)

  Only occasion on which the UN was able to take decisive action in a crisis directly involving the interests of one of the superpowers The Korean War (1950-3)

  When South Korea was invaded by the communist North in 1950, the Security Council immediately passed a resolution condemning the North  Also called on all member states to lend support to the South The Korean War (1950-3)

  Though this was possible only as the Soviet Union, who would have definitely vetoed the decision to support the South, was absent for the meeting as a mark of protest over the decision to prevent China from entering the UN The Korean War (1950-3)

  Was a highly successful event for the UNO, as UN troops succeeded in pushing the N. Korean troops back to the 38th Parallel after their invasion of the South The Korean War (1950-3)

  ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolution  Permitted a Security Council veto to be bypassed by a General Assembly majority vote  Resignation of Secretary- General Trygve Lie  Criticised for his biased role during decision-making The Korean War (1950-3)

  When Egypt suddenly nationalized the Suez Canal, many of whose shares were owned by Britain & France, both powers protested strongly and sent troops, they claimed, to protect national interests The Suez Crisis (1956)

  Israel later also invaded Egypt with the aim of bringing down its leader, Nasser  A Security Council resolution requesting all UN members to refrain from force was vetoed by Britain & France soon after The Suez Crisis (1956)

  General Assembly could now pass a resolution under the Uniting for Peace resolution (1950), urging a ceasefire and the withdrawal of forces  Still Britain & France continued their invasion though they agreed to stop on condition that satisfactory arrangements were made for the canal The Suez Crisis (1956)

  Eventually the UNO introduced the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), whereby 5000 men were moved into Egypt  Britain, France & Israel soon left though the UNEF remained as a buffer zone between Israel & Egypt The Suez Crisis (1956)

  Led to an increase in power of the Secretary-General after Hammarskjold’s contributions during the crisis  Increased the stature & influence of the UN  Had shown that it could concentrate the weight of international opinion on the states concerned  Highlighted that it was instrumental in pulling back nations from a full-scale war The Suez Crisis (1956)

  Lebanon was in the middle of a civil war which had begun in 1975  Frontier dispute in the south of the country between Lebanese Christians, aided by the Israelis, and Palestinians  Israelis had invaded South Lebanon in order to destroy Palestinian guerrilla bases from which attacks were being made on northern Israel  Israel agreed to withdraw on condition that the UNO assumed responsibility to keeping the peace Lebanon (1978)

  United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon sent to South Lebanon  Succeeded in maintaining relative peace in the area, but struggled to control frontier violations, assassinations, terrorism etc. Lebanon (1978)

  1990: Muslim group Hezbollah, backed by Iran & Syria, began to trouble Israel from bases in South Lebanon  In response Israel invaded South Lebanon and occupied most of the region until 1999  Again UNIFIL succeeded in negotiating an Israeli withdrawal while increasing its presence by increasing its forces to 8000  Succeeded finally in restoring calm in 2002 Lebanon (1978)

  UN was successful in bringing an end to the long- drawn war between the Gulf states, though it was aided by the fact that both sides were close to exhaustion  In 1988 a UN force of about 4000 unarmed observers arrived at the war front to supervise the ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops behind original international boundaries  End of conflict made possible The Iran-Iraq War (1980-8)





  Dispute between Jews and Arabs in Palestine was brought before the UN in 1947  UN decided after an investigation to divide Palestine, setting up the Jewish state of Israel Palestine (1947)

  This was not accepted by the majority of Arabs  The UN was unable to prevent a series of wars between Israel and various Arab states Palestine (1947)

  However, it did useful work arranging ceasefires and providing supervisory forces  The UN Relief and Works agency also cared the Arab refugees Palestine (1947)

  The Congo was thrown into chaos immediately after gaining independence when the Congolese army mutinied and Belgian troops returned  UN sent troops into the Congo to intervene as Belgian troops gradually left  UN Congo Fund set up to help the recovery & development of the ravaged country Congo (1960-4)

  However the cost was so high that the UN was brought close to bankruptcy, especially when the USSR, France & Belgium refused to pay their contributions towards the UN’s cause  Disapproved the UN’s way of handling the crisis and demanded the resignation of S-G Hammarskjold, who refused to  Smaller countries supported him and the Russians withdrew their demand after his public declaration that it was the smaller countries who required protection and not the superpowers Congo (1960-4)

  In 1963 civil war broke out between the Greeks and the Turks  1964: A UN peacekeeping force arrived to restore peace  3000 UN troops permanently stationed in Cyprus to prevent any conflict from arising Cyprus (1964)

  In 1974 Greek Cypriots attempted to unite the city with Greece  Turkish Cypriots, upset over the situation, received aid from Turkish army troops and invaded the north of the island  Went on to expel all Greeks who were living in that area Cyprus (1964)

  UNO intervenes again, achieving a ceasefire while still policing the frontier between the Greeks and Turks  Still been unsuccessful in finding a compromise to allow it to withdraw its troops without any consequences Cyprus (1964)





  When the Hungarians tried to exert their independence from the USSR, Soviet troops invaded Hungary to crush the revolt The Hungarian Uprising (1956)

  Hungary appealed to the UN but USSR vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of forces  General Assembly passed the same resolution and attempted to investigate, but Russia’s refusal to cooperate meant no progress could be made The Hungarian Uprising (1956)

  Russia’s refusal to respect the UN’s decision highlighted the ineffectiveness of the UNO  Massive failure for the UN The Hungarian Uprising (1956)

  Claimed by both India & Pakistan as it was situated in between the two countries  UN had already once negotiated a ceasefire in 1948 after fighting broke out Kashmir (1947, )

  Indians were to occupy the southern part of Kashmir; Pakistan, the north  1965: Pakistani troops invaded the Indian zone, starting a war Kashmir (1947, )

  Again UNO intervened and an uneasy peace was restored  Original dispute remained  Not very successful: UNO unable to find a long-term solution Kashmir (1947, )

  Czechoslovakia had displayed several signs of what Moscow considered to be too much independence  USSR & other Warsaw Pact troops were sent in to enforce obedience to USSR  Security Council attempted to pass a motion condemning this action, but Russia vetoed it  Claimed Czechs had asked for their intervention  Failure  Nothing UNO could do in view of Russia’s failure to cooperate Czechoslovakia (1968)