History of United Nations peacekeeping
The United Nations began peacekeeping in 1948, sending observers to the Middle East during the Arab–Israeli War. Since then, there have been 72 peacekeeping missions around the world, with 12 still active today. In 1988, the whole peacekeeping effort won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The UN Charter doesn’t use the word “peacekeeping,” but the work is tied to Chapter 6 (dispute settlement and mediation) and Chapter 7 (sanctions and, if needed, force). The Cold War made peacekeeping hard, because the world was split into rival camps. After the Cold War, peacekeeping expanded greatly, especially from 1991 to 1994.
An early example of international peacekeeping is the Saar mission in 1934–35, run by the League of Nations. The first UN peacekeeping mission was a team of observers in the Middle East in 1948; May 29, 1948 is the date officially linked to peacekeeping and is remembered as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
In 1956, the UN helped resolve the Suez Crisis with the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to supervise the withdrawal of invading forces. The idea for UN peacekeeping came from Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson, who proposed sending neutral, lightly armed troops under UN command. Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for this work, and UNEF became the first official armed peacekeeping operation.
The UN also helped with decolonization. ONUC assisted the Congo from 1960 to 1964 to stabilize the country, and UNSF helped transfer West New Guinea from Dutch to Indonesian control in 1962–63.
As the Soviet Union weakened, some peacekeeping missions changed or ended. UNGOMAP was created to monitor the Pakistan–Afghanistan border and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
A 2005 RAND study found the UN generally successful in about two of three peacekeeping efforts, and often more effective than other major players in stabilizing countries. A 2005 Human Security Report noted a decline in wars and genocides since the Cold War, linking it in part to international action led by the UN.
The UN has faced serious criticism. Sometimes the Security Council did not pass strong resolutions or member states did not enforce them, contributing to failures like the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and other crises in Somalia, Srebrenica in 1995, Israel–Palestine, Kashmir, and Darfur. Some have called for a rapid reaction force that can deploy quickly in future crises.
Allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers have also damaged the UN’s reputation, with reports in the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Sudan, Burundi, and Côte d’Ivoire. In response, the UN has reformed its operations. The Brahimi Report led to reforms, followed by the Peace Operations 2010 reform agenda and the 2008 capstone doctrine, “United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines.” In 2013, Transparency International criticized UN anti-corruption guidance and oversight.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:54 (CET).