United Nations peacekeeping forces are an important force for the international community to maintain world peace under the leadership of the UN Security Council. They also uphold the spirit of the UN Charter while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned, so as to calm conflicts and create conditions for peaceful settlement of disputes, with the aim of maintaining world peace.
The United Nations peacekeeping force was originally an armed force for non-combat operations, but the international situation after the Cold War prompted the peacekeeping force to expand its functions to other fields, such as large-scale humanitarian assistance, assistance to refugees and victims, international supervision of nuclear facilities, and forced suppression of domestic conflicts in the host country. There are well-equipped regular troops in the peacekeeping force; United Nations peacekeeping forces have participated in a series of more complicated but vague activities to rebuild the country, such as monitoring the ceasefire, disbanding the army, destroying weapons, supervising the repatriation of refugees, providing humanitarian assistance, supervising the administrative structure of the country, training new police forces, and supervising and organizing general elections. The sources of peacekeeping troops are constantly expanding, and the five permanent members have also begun to send peacekeeping troops. United Nations peacekeeping operations put more emphasis on the use of force. 1990- 1995, the Security Council adopted resolution 1 1, authorizing military strikes against Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, mandatory sanctions imposed by United Nations peacekeeping operations have also increased. 1990- 1998, the Security Council adopted a mandatory resolution 12, imposing economic sanctions and arms embargoes on Iraq, Yugoslavia, Somalia, Libya, Liberia, Haiti, Angola and Rwanda. United Nations peacekeeping operations take various forms. Regional organizations set up their own peacekeeping forces in various forms, and the so-called "non-United Nations peacekeeping forces" appeared.
United Nations peacekeeping operation refers to an operation authorized by the United Nations Security Council to help the parties to a conflict to maintain peace, restore peace and finally achieve peace by non-military means.
As of May 2004, the United Nations has deployed 65,438+05 peacekeepers in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including 53,000 peacekeepers from 94 countries and 65,438+0.1.000 United Nations staff. In 2004, the budget of United Nations peacekeeping operations exceeded $4 billion. Among the 15 peacekeeping operations, the Middle East Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) established in 1948 is the longest peacekeeping operation of the United Nations. The shortest time is the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was established in July 2000. Of the 65,438+05 peacekeeping operations, 4 were in Africa (MONUC, UNMEE, Sierra Leone and Western Sahara), 2 were in Asia (UNTAET and UNMOGIP) and 5 were in Europe (UNMIBH, UNFICYP, UNOMIG, UNMIK and Prevlaka).
Peacekeeping is one of the important functions of the United Nations. United Nations peacekeeping operation is an operation to send peacekeeping troops or military observer missions to conflict areas to restore or maintain peace according to the resolutions adopted by the Security Council or the General Assembly. Its purpose is to prevent the expansion and recurrence of local conflicts, thus creating conditions for the realization of political settlement. The tasks of peacekeeping operations include monitoring ceasefires, truce and withdrawal; Disengage the parties to the conflict; Observe and report the situation; Help to implement the peace agreement; Prevent illegal cross-border or infiltration, and maintain law and order in conflict areas. In recent years, with the changes in the international situation, the tasks of United Nations peacekeeping operations have also expanded, involving many non-traditional tasks, such as monitoring elections, holding referendums, protecting and distributing humanitarian assistance, helping demining and returning refugees to their homes. In addition to military personnel, there are also civilian police and civilian personnel participating in the peacekeeping team.
The establishment of peacekeeping operations is generally decided by the Security Council, and the United Nations General Assembly has occasionally made decisions in history. Its specific implementation is decided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in consultation with the Security Council. There are two main forms of peacekeeping operations: military observer missions and peacekeeping forces. The former is generally composed of unarmed soldiers, while the latter is composed of armed military detachments. Because peacekeeping operations are not mandatory, military observers are not allowed to carry weapons; Although the peacekeeping forces are equipped with weapons, they must not use force without authorization unless they have to defend themselves. United Nations peacekeeping operations are temporary measures, usually for a certain period of time, which can be extended by the Security Council according to the specific circumstances and the proposal of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The most basic requirement of peacekeeping operations is absolute non-interference in a country's internal affairs.
According to the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations can stop international conflicts in the following two ways: one is purely diplomatic, that is, to resolve disputes through good offices and mediation; The second way is to prevent conflicts by blockade, embargo, economic sanctions and even sending United Nations troops. Peacekeeping operation is the so-called "third way" between diplomatic way and compulsory way, which appears in the practice of United Nations mediation and settlement of regional conflicts.
Peacekeeping operations are mainly divided into two categories: United Nations peacekeeping operations directly led by the Secretary-General (including military observer missions and peacekeeping forces) and peacekeeping operations authorized by the Secretary-General and directed by regional organizations or major countries (including multinational forces and "humanitarian intervention forces").
United Nations peacekeeping operations have three major characteristics: international: organized by the United Nations, with members from all Member States, under the command of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and only responsible to the United Nations; Non-mandatory: Peacekeeping forces can only be established with the consent of the countries concerned and the voluntary participation of Member States. It has no right to take coercive measures in peacekeeping and can only use force in self-defense; Neutrality: Peacekeeping operations must be fair, just and non-interference in internal affairs.
The United Nations Secretariat has a Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which is responsible for peacekeeping operations. But every specific peacekeeping operation needs to set up a special organization, and each peacekeeping organization is generally composed of military personnel and civilian personnel, with a complete and systematic organization. Usually, military personnel undertake peacekeeping duties, while civilian personnel are responsible for administration and logistics.
The personnel on duty in peacekeeping operations are mainly composed of three parts: first, peacekeeping troops equipped with light weapons for self-defense; Second, military observers without any weapons; Third, logistics units such as engineering, medical care and transportation. Peacekeeping troops and military observers are still members of their own armed forces and are bound by the military laws, regulations and rules of the sending countries. Accept the command of the United Nations in peacekeeping operations. Peacekeeping officers and soldiers wear their own military uniforms. In order to show their status as peacekeepers, they all wear blue berets or helmets and United Nations badges.
Soldiers in United Nations peacekeeping missions are not loyal to the United Nations. Governments that voluntarily send military personnel and civilian police retain the ultimate authority over their respective troops serving under the United Nations flag. The United Nations reimburses countries that voluntarily send personnel to participate in peacekeeping at a flat rate of about 1 000 dollars per soldier per month. The United Nations also reimburses countries for equipment costs.
Traditional peacekeeping operations can be basically divided into two categories: one is an observer mission composed of unarmed military observers to supervise the implementation of ceasefire, withdrawal or related agreements; The second is to send peacekeeping troops equipped with light weapons to defend themselves to ensure a ceasefire, ease the situation and create conditions for resolving disputes. Since the late 1980s, the number and scale of United Nations peacekeeping operations have greatly increased. At the same time, in addition to continuing to assume the traditional responsibility of monitoring the ceasefire, its tasks have expanded dramatically, including organizing and monitoring elections, maintaining law and order, resettling refugees, creating a safe environment for humanitarian relief operations, disarming factions, demining and rebuilding the country.
According to the statistics of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, in the more than 50 years since 1948 dispatched the Truce Supervision Organization to Palestine, the United Nations has carried out more than 50 peacekeeping operations in various conflict areas, with peacekeeping expenditure exceeding1900 million US dollars, involving more than 800,000 military, police and civilian personnel, and the number of deaths in peacekeeping operations is about 1800. Peacekeeping operations have become one of the important means for the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. United Nations peacekeeping forces won the Nobel Peace Prize 1988. In 2002, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to designate May 29th as "International Peacekeepers Day" every year.