List of United Nations peacekeeping missions



This is a list of UN peacekeeping missions since the United Nations was founded in 1945, organized by region, with the dates of deployment, the name of the related conflict, and the name of the UN operation.

Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. UN peacekeepers&mdash;soldiers and military officers, civilian police officers and civilian personnel from many countries&mdash;monitor and observe peace processes that emerge in post-conflict situations and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. All operations must include the resolution of conflicts through the use of force to be considered valid under the charter of the United Nations. The Charter of the United Nations gives the Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the international community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations. Most of these operations are established and implemented by the United Nations itself with troops serving under UN operational command. In other cases, where direct UN involvement is not considered appropriate or feasible, the Council authorizes regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Economic Community of West African States or coalitions of willing countries to implement certain peacekeeping or peace enforcement functions. In modern times, peacekeeping operations have evolved into many different functions, including diplomatic relations with other countries, international bodies of justice (such as the International Criminal Court), and eliminating problems such as landmines that can lead to new incidents of fighting.

Americas
1 Shown are the flags of the five countries in which ONUCA operated. They are in this order (sorted alphabetically): Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Asia
1 The first flag shown is that of the West Papua (West New Guinea), the country that had been arranged to succeed the Dutch colony. However, the Netherlands, whose flag is the second shown, was later forced to hand over the territory to Indonesia, whose flag is last.

2 Shown are the flags of the newly independent East Timor and its former occupier, Indonesia (in that order).

Europe
1 This mission operated within the former Yugoslav successor states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The flags are shown in this order.

2 Prevlaka Peninsula was claimed by both Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and the flags are shown in this order. Upon resolution, all parties accepted Croatia's claim to the territory.

Europe
1 The United Nations and all foreign governments but Turkey recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, whose flag is shown first, over the whole island of Cyprus. The second flag is that of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a de facto state, by virtue of controlling the northern third of the island, which is recognized only by Turkey and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

2 The top flag is the flag of Kosovo. The bottom flag is the flag of Serbia, used by Republic of Serbia which claims sovereignty over Kosovo. For more see Kosovo.

Middle East
1 Various regions of the Golan Heights have been claimed by Israel, Lebanon, and Syria; all three flags are shown, in alphabetical order.