United Nations

D

3

United States Mediation

Efforts outside the UN to seek a broader settlement achieved some success when, in March 1979, Egypt and Israel, through US mediation, signed a formal peace treaty providing for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai, the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and a general framework for extending the peace process to other Arab states. Withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai led to the discontinuation of UNEF II; its mandate was permitted to lapse on July 24, 1979.

D

4

Still No Resolution

UNTSO observers continued to function between Egypt and Israel under the terms of the 1949 agreement, and both UNDOF and UNIFIL were still operating in the 1990s. Southern Lebanon remained turbulent. The region was a stronghold of Palestinian insurgent bases until the Israeli invasion of June 1982; subsequently, Israeli and Syrian forces remained in Lebanon, along with Palestinian guerrillas.

Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and of the territories on the West Bank of the River Jordan came under increasingly severe attack in both the Security Council and the General Assembly. Resolutions recognized the rights of the Palestinian Arabs, and their representatives were given opportunities to bring their case to the world forum. Expansion of Israeli settlements in the territories further complicated the problem. In 1993 leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed a peace agreement calling for the Palestinians to gradually assume responsibility for civil administration of the occupied lands, beginning with the Gaza Strip and Jericho area. The first stages of the agreement were implemented in 1994. However, by the late 1990s there had been no further progress on the administration of the remainder of the occupied lands, instead there was a return to the cycle of violence that continued into the 21st century.

D

5

The Gulf Conflicts and Iraq

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, which began the Gulf War, brought an immediate response from the Security Council. A series of resolutions passed between August and November condemned the occupation and annexation of Kuwait; imposed an extensive embargo on commercial and financial dealings with Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait; sanctioned the use of military force to ensure compliance with the embargo; and, finally, authorized member states to use “all necessary means” to expel Iraq from Kuwait if Iraq had not already withdrawn by January 15, 1991. In response, Iraq called for an international peace conference to consider a broad range of regional conflicts, including the Israeli-Palestinian dispute; the United States and its allies insistently opposed such linkage.

After the US-led coalition in the Gulf War quickly defeated Iraq and restored Kuwaiti independence, a UN peacekeeping force moved in to monitor a demilitarized zone along the Iraq-Kuwait border. Further UN presence was called on in northern Iraq to protect Kurds who had rebelled against the regime of Saddam Hussein, although ultimately no practical help on the ground was offered, and the Iraqi regime survived. However, a no-fly zone was imposed by the UN on the northern and southern areas of Iraq and monitored by US-led forces.

International teams of weapons inspectors were also deployed in Iraq by the UN, concerned at the prospect of an Iraqi programme to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. These inspectors continued to work inside Iraq until 1998, when they were forced out, but returned late in 2002 to implement a tough new UN mandate, proposed by the US, aimed at finally disarming Iraq. However, US impatience with what it saw as continuing Iraqi intransigence led to the position of both the inspectors and the UN itself being sidestepped as a US-led force launched an air and ground offensive against Iraq in early 2003 to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein. Such a disregard for the UN, which had not approved military intervention, severely curtailed its effectiveness.

E

Africa

The first major operation in Africa began in 1960 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo shortly after it became independent of Belgium. A mutiny among Congolese troops led to a breakdown in public order. Belgium quickly despatched military forces to the area; at the same time, the province of Katanga, led by its premier Moise Tshombe, declared its independence. Congolese President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba asked the UN for assistance. With authorization from the Security Council the secretary-general organized an economic programme and an international peacekeeping force that, at its peak, totalled more than 20,000 troops. On February 21, 1961, the Security Council authorized the UN troops to use force.

The UN's task was complex: to help maintain order without even the appearance of taking sides, and to exercise military authority carefully for defensive purposes without launching offensive programmes. The UN undoubtedly helped the Congo to emerge as a united country. A heavy loss was incurred in 1961, however, when Secretary-General Hammarskjöld was killed in an aeroplane crash while trying to bring about a ceasefire between the central government and Katanga.

The UN peacekeepers in Western Sahara, South Africa, Angola, and Mozambique were mostly observers. The mission to Somalia, begun late in 1992, was much more complex. After the defeat of Somalia's longtime leader, Muhammed Siad Barre, by rebels in 1991, the nation descended into anarchy. International famine-relief agencies found it increasingly difficult to operate, and massive starvation was imminent. In April 1992 the Security Council voted to establish an operation in Somalia. But when 500 troops arrived in September, they were unable to operate. On December 3 the council voted to accept an offer from the United States to provide a large force to safeguard relief operations. Within a month about 15,000 United States troops were in Somalia, and food supplies had begun to reach most of the people. The UN took command of the operation from the United States in May 1993, but in June, in an ambush, 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed by Somali rebels thought to be controlled by Mohammad Farrah Aidid, a clan leader. The United States sent in reinforcements with the goal of capturing Aidid and pacifying his forces. After several failed missions, the United States and the UN re-emphasized attempts to reach a political solution.

F

Cyprus

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has been stationed there since March 1964 to serve as a deterrent to open fighting between the Greek and Turkish communities. Cyprus gained independence from Great Britain in 1960 under a constitution that sought to balance the rights and interests of the two ethnic groups in the population, the Greeks being heavily in the majority. After three years of relative peace, violence broke out between the two communities late in 1963. On March 4, 1964, the Security Council recommended UN mediation and authorized the formation of a peacekeeping force. The force reached almost 7,000 later that year, but has been progressively reduced, numbering some 2,100 troops in the late 1980s.

The most difficult period occurred in 1974, when Turkey intervened in support of the Turkish Cypriots after a change of government threatened to shift the constitutional balance in favour of those Greek Cypriots who desired union with Greece. A ceasefire was achieved by mid-August and was followed the next year by a transfer of more than 8,000 Turkish Cypriots to the Turkish-controlled north of the island with the assistance of UNFICYP. Since then UNFICYP has patrolled a strip separating the northern sector from the Greek sector in the south.

Meanwhile, the secretary-general has continually been involved in discussions to negotiate a settlement between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In recent years, these discussions have focused on guidelines necessary to bring about a bizonal state and guarantee the security of the Turkish Cypriot community. In late 1983, with the talks still stalemated, the northern region (occupied by Turkish forces) declared its independence. The UN refused to recognize the new Turkish Cypriot state, and UNFICYP personnel continued to serve as a barrier between the two sides.