How successful had the UN been as a

peacekeeping organisation?

Successes

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 (1945-1946)

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 (1945-1946)

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 (1945-1946)

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)

Mixed Successes

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 20 000 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)

Failures

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 (1947,1965 - )

Indians were to occupy

the southern part of

Kashmir; Pakistan, the

north

1965: Pakistani troops

invaded the Indian

zone, starting a war

Kashmir (1947,1965 - )

Again UNO intervened and

an uneasy peace was

restored

Original dispute remained

Not very successful: UNO

unable to find a long-term

solution

Kashmir (1947,1965 - )

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)