The United Nations at Work

The United Nations has performed a multitude of tasks since it was first created, more than half a century ago. The organization has worked towards solving important issues such as the implementation of human rights, demilitarization, improving the economies of less fortunate countries, stopping wars and conflicts and reducing the impact of diseases. This section is devoted to informing the reader about the efforts and actions that the UN has undertaken throughout its history.

Peacekeeping

Out of all the actions undertaken by the UN, the ones which get the most attention are those which involve wars and conflicts. The ideas behind a peacekeeping operation is that UN soldiers keep rival forces apart from each other along a line which has been agreed on in a cease-fire agreement. Even though the term “peacekeeping” does not actually figure in the Charter of the United Nations, there have been, since 1948, 40 peacekeeping operations, with a total cost of over $10.5 billion, driven by approximately 750,000 soldiers and thousands of police officers and civilians from 70 countries. More than 1,500 individuals under the banner of the UN have lost their lives during these operations.

All bold words are defined in the Glossary. Click here to go to the Glossary

Peacekeeping in Asia

The first UN peacekeeping operation was in the north of India, where there were terrible conflicts between Pakistan and India took place. After the British gave independence to the Indian sub-continent, the Muslims and the Hindus were given their own countries. India has a majority of Hindus, and Pakistan has a majority of Muslims. Relations between India and Pakistan became very bad when they started having border disputes. The rich province of Kashmir was ruled by India, but was claimed by Pakistan due to the large Muslim community living there.

In the late 1940’s, the UN sent unarmed peacekeeping troops to the border between Pakistan and India, established by a cease-fire agreement. The role of these troops was to inform the UN about any conflict which took place, and prevent aggression from either party. The effectiveness of the attempt to establish peace in northern India is debatable, since India and Pakistan would fight other conflicts over the same border for years to come. However, at least the UN observers were present, and could give an account of the situation to the world.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, under the cover of an “invitation”, in 1979. War raged for many years, and as a consequence, the country has been devastated, and the civilian population has suffered greatly. Entire villages were destroyed by Soviet helicopters, and the Afghanis would attack Soviet convoys. The Afghan force which opposed the Soviets and the Communist government of Afghanistan was called the Mujahidin. Members of the Mujahadin believed that Communism was against the laws of Islam, and were angry at the Soviets for invading their land.

The USA supplied weapons to the Mujahidin, and it quickly became a very effective guerrilla force. The USSR ended up fighting a war, similar to that of the American war in Vietnam, and there were very high casualties. Making matters for the Afghani people even worse, when the Mujahidin clans were not fighting the Soviets, they were often fighting each other, which meant that they were fighting a guerrilla war, as well as a civil war.

The Soviet aggression lead to a terrific international outcry. However, since the USSR had veto power in the Security Council, the UN was incapable of acting in a decisive manner against the aggression which went against the principles of good neighbourliness, peace, and security. Due to Cold War rivalry, the USA took matters in charge and created the US-Soviet trade embargo in 1980. That same year, the USA also boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games.

By this time, UN representatives were trying to find ways of bringing both parties to agree on a peace settlement, and in 1981, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General was to oversee the situation in Afghanistan. Getting all sides to agree on a peace deal or a cease-fire was very difficult, and it would not be until 1982 that the UN’s Special Representatives would start mediating between the parties.

In 1988, the Soviet Union was lead by a new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. He was against the war in Afghanistan, and by early 1989, all Soviet troops had been withdrawn from the country. The UN could now get to work. The United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP) was set up, in order to rebuild a good political system, and make sure that Afghanistan would stick to the agreements made after the Soviets left.

This attempt however was futile, because in 1992, there was political turmoil in the capital city of Kabul, and much of the UN’s efforts were undone.

Another Asian country which suffered tremendous atrocities, and which required the attention of the United Nations, was Cambodia. This country has been divested by years of imperial history, American bombardments of the Ho-Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam Conflict, war against Vietnam, civil war and genocide which took place under the orders of the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. It is estimated that during his rule alone, which only lasted four years, close to 1/3 of the population was killed.

The United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia (UNAMIC) was launched in November of 1991. This mission called for approximately 1,500 peacekeepers, from 19 nations. Its duties consisted, among other things, of clearing the country of its landmines - since they were responsible for the amputation of limbs of children and civilians. During this phaze, UNICEF made the greatest humanitarian effort for children since the end of WWII.

In March of 1992, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was created, and UNAMIC was absorbed into it. This new operation called for the staggering number of 22,000 soldiers, and a budget of $1,620,963,300 (including the cost of UNAMIC). Essentially, UNAMIC rebuilt the country, step by step. It did so by organizing fair, free and democratic elections, reshaping the entire political infrastructure, training the police force, resettling the Cambodian refugees, and reorganizing the army.

Another Asian peacekeeping operations which took place in West Irian. Currently, the UN is also serving in East Timor and in Tajikistan.