Free Essay Sample about Peacekeeping

Peace keeping operations have been around for so many years. According to the author, this practice has been around for hundreds of years. The Greeks, for instance, tried it out in the fifth century and failed. Since then, world leaders have tried to master the concept, even under religion, but still ended up failing too. The key concept was to try and ensure that help could be provided to people who were in need. One of the most recent attempts to forge an international effort for peace keeping was done by President Woodrow Wilson before the First World War. The united nation is known to be the only organization that managed to make a workable team under the United Nations Organization.

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In the initial stages, America and the Soviet Union were among nations that could not work together. Specifically, after the Second World War, these nations had too much tension between them to work together. The United Nations had difficulty operating in these conditions. The key idea was for United Nations to work in international borders, but it was important to have an international system where nations could come together and support the common course.

The United Nations collective security system was formed and it made sure that every nation was well aware of the boundaries to be used while engaged in the operations. It was established that the force was to be trained in a way that peace had to take center stage. Forces were only to be deployed when two or more nations were in conflict. The peacekeepers came between these nations and tried their best to make the situation better. Some of the crucial rules of engagement included facilitating negotiation between nations. Conciliation stood out to be the second way of resolving issues. The court systems could be involved but only as mediators. Presidents could be brought together and talks could be help in front of their peers. When this could not work, arbitration was brought to the table. In the worst-case scenario, the peacekeepers could resort to facilitating regional agencies in making peace arrangements.

In the seventh chapter of the rules of engagement, the United Nations organization made provisions for an escalation of force. One of the elements to be looked out for include any threat to the peace. When both nations showed aggressiveness towards each other, the forces were allowed to use force. Whenever any of the nations breached the peace agreement that had been reached, the force was allowed to engage the aggressive forces. In any case of aggressiveness, the rules of engagement had to be changed to favor the masses, who all have to be protected. The use of arms embargo was the first step when it comes to using force. In the case of an escalation in the situation, the nations could be compelled to an economic sanction. By the end of the day, the last resort would include the use of force. The Security Council has to be approached and hence they give authorization to proceed with force. The United Nations military committee would have to be involved in making the final decision of engaging the nations in a military engagement.

Before initiating the united union, it was important to bring in key forces that also had the power to support the operations. Some of these players included China, France, the Soviet Union, America as well as the United Kingdom. These same nations were given the privilege to nominate some of its citizens, especially those who have knowledge on international relations to join the military staff committee.

When North Korea invaded South Korea, the United Nations organization had to be brought into the picture. This was among the first big cases handled by the Security Council in 1950. North Korea was listed to be the party that breached peace. The mission failed to go along with the requirements put in place by the United Nations. It was not lead by the Security Council and force was used before authorization.

The United Nations has always been led by a secretary general. The main office is situated in New York. The two officers below the secretary general include the office of special political affairs and the field operations division. The next level in the chain of command include the mission level head quarter. The chief of staff and the civilian administrative officer are both in this level. The operations and the support elements are in the lowest level in the chain of command. They include the infantry battalions as well as the logistics units. The United Nations has been able to help numerous nations achieve peace but these efforts have taken a long time to get to the point where it is today. In the early day, the organization went through a lot of challenges while trying to achieve its peace keeping efforts. The years 1945 to 1987 played a big role in molding the identity of global peace keeping under the United Nations.

Bibliography

O'neill, John Terence, and Nicholas Rees. 2005. United Nations Peacekeeping in the Post-Cold War Era. Taylor & Francis.

Ram, Sunil, and Harvey Langholtz. 2008. "The History of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations During The Cold War: 1945 to 1987." Peace Operations Training Institute 3 - 21.

Sorenson, David S., and Pia Christina Wood. 2005. The Politics of Peacekeeping in the Post-cold War Era. London: Psychology Press.