How successful had the UN been as a peacekeeping organisation?

How successful had the UN been as a peacekeeping organisation?SuccessesIran complained to the UN that Soviet troops, stationed there during WWII, were meddling in the countrys internal affairsUSSR saw this as a Cold War tactic used by the USA to oppose herIran (1945-1946)

Responded by claiming that Britain, USAs ally, was also interfering in Greeces 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 themselvesCould 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 outUNO finally sent a UN force to assist in negotiations and maintain the peace1962: 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 superpowersThe Korean War (1950-3)When South Korea was invaded by the communist North in 1950, the Security Council immediately passed a resolution condemning the NorthAlso 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 UNThe 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 resolutionPermitted a Security Council veto to be bypassed by a General Assembly majority voteResignation of Secretary-General Trygve LieCriticised for his biased role during decision-makingThe 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 interestsThe Suez Crisis (1956)

Israel later also invaded Egypt with the aim of bringing down its leader, NasserA 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 forcesStill 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 EgyptBritain, 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 Hammarskjolds contributions during the crisisIncreased the stature & influence of the UNHad shown that it could concentrate the weight of international opinion on the states concernedHighlighted 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 1975Frontier dispute in the south of the country between Lebanese Christians, aided by the Israelis, and PalestiniansIsraelis had invaded South Lebanon in order to destroy Palestinian guerrilla bases from which attacks were being made on northern IsraelIsrael agreed to withdraw on condition that the UNO assumed responsibility to keeping the peaceLebanon (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 LebanonIn response Israel invaded South Lebanon and occupied most of the region until 1999Again UNIFIL succeeded in negotiating an Israeli withdrawal while increasing its presence by increasing its forces to 8000Succeeded finally in restoring calm in 2002Lebanon (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 exhaustionIn 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 boundariesEnd of conflict made possibleThe Iran-Iraq War (1980-8)

Mixed SuccessesDispute between Jews and Arabs in Palestine was brought before the UN in 1947UN decided after an investigation to divide Palestine, setting up the Jewish state of IsraelPalestine (1947)

This was not accepted by the majority of ArabsThe UN was unable to prevent a series of wars between Israel and various Arab statesPalestine (1947)

However, it did useful work arranging ceasefires and providing supervisory forcesThe 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 returnedUN sent 20 000 troops into the Congo to intervene as Belgian troops gradually leftUN Congo Fund set up to help the recovery & development of the ravaged countryCongo (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 UNs causeDisapproved the UNs 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 superpowersCongo (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 arisingCyprus (1964)In 1974 Greek Cypriots attempted to unite the city with GreeceTurkish 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 areaCyprus (1964)

UNO intervenes again, achieving a ceasefire while still policing the frontier between the Greeks and TurksStill been unsuccessful in finding a compromise to allow it to withdraw its troops without any consequencesCyprus (1964)

FailuresWhen 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 forcesGeneral Assembly passed the same resolution and attempted to investigate, but Russias refusal to cooperate meant no progress could be made

The Hungarian Uprising (1956)Russias refusal to respect the UNs decision highlighted the ineffectiveness of the UNOMassive failure for the UNThe Hungarian Uprising (1956)

Claimed by both India & Pakistan as it was situated in between the two countriesUN had already once negotiated a ceasefire in 1948 after fighting broke outKashmir (1947,1965 - )

Indians were to occupy the southern part of Kashmir; Pakistan, the north1965: Pakistani troops invaded the Indian zone, starting a war

Kashmir (1947,1965 - )

Again UNO intervened and an uneasy peace was restoredOriginal dispute remained Not very successful: UNO unable to find a long-term solutionKashmir (1947,1965 - )

Czechoslovakia had displayed several signs of what Moscow considered to be too much independenceUSSR & other Warsaw Pact troops were sent in to enforce obedience to USSRSecurity Council attempted to pass a motion condemning this action, but Russia vetoed itClaimed Czechs had asked for their interventionFailure Nothing UNO could do in view of Russias failure to cooperate

Czechoslovakia (1968)