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How successful had the UN been as a peacekeeping organisation?. Successes. Iran (1945-1946). 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. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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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)
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)
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)