Years of UN peacekeeping efforts

In Afghanistan, mediation by a UN envoy led to the 1988 agreements

between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Soviet Union and the United States aimed

at ending the conflict. To help put the agreements into effect, the UN

deployed an observer mission, which also verified Soviet troop withdrawal.

The Secretary - General and his envoys have continued to work for a

peaceful settlement of the continuing civil war. UN agencies provide

assistance to the some 2.3 million Afghan refugees.

...in the Americas

The UN has helped resolve protracted conflicts in Central America. In

Guatemala, UN-assisted negotiations resulted in the 1996 peace accord,

ending a 35-year conflict during which over 100,000 people were killed. The

UN began supervising talks between the Government and the Guatemalan

National Revolutionary Unity in 1991. In 1994, two agreements opened the

way to a settlement of the conflict, and led to the deployment of the UN

Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala. The Mission has

remained in the country to help put into effect the peace accord.

In 1990, the UN observed the first democratic elections in Haiti.

After a military coup in 1991 forced the President into exile, the UN

mediated an agreement for the return to democracy. As Haiti's military

leaders did not comply with the agreement, the Security Council authorized

in 1994 the formation of a multinational force to facilitate the leaders'

departure. After the landing of a United States - led multinational force,

the exiled President returned to Haiti in 1994. A UN peacekeeping force,

which took over from the multinational force in 1995, contributes to

stability in the young democracy.

In El Salvador, the Secretary - General assisted in peace talks

between the Government and the Farabundo Martн National Liberation Front

(FMLN). His mediation led to the 1992 peace agreement between the

Government and FMLN, which ended the 12-year conflict. A UN Observer

Mission monitored all agreements concluded between the parties and observed

the 1994 elections.

A UN mission deployed between 1989 and 1992 contributed to ending the

fighting in Nicaragua. It helped demobilize some 22,000 members of the

Nicaraguan resistance (also known as "contras"), who in 1990 turned in

their weapons to the UN. Another mission observed the 1990 elections - the

first UN-observed elections in an independent country.

Throughout Central America, UN specialized agencies and programs are

working hand in hand to ensure that refugees are safely repatriated and

provided with the tools to start over. They also provide training for civil

servants, police, human rights monitors and legal professionals to promote

good governance and the rule of law.

...in Europe

Following the 1995 Dayton-Paris peace agreements, four UN missions

were deployed to help secure the peace in the former Yugoslavia. The

largest of them, the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slovenia,

was established to govern this area and help reintegrate it into Croatia.

From 1991, the UN worked strenuously to resolve the conflict,

providing at the same time relief assistance to some 4 million people. To

help restore peace, the UN imposed an arms embargo in 1991, while the

Secretary - General and his envoy assisted in seeking solutions to the

conflict. From 1992 to 1995, UN peacekeepers sought to bring peace and

security to Croatia, helped protect civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and

helped ensure that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was not drawn

into the war.

UN agencies continue to provide humanitarian assistance to over 2

million people still suffering the effects of the conflict.

...in the Middle East

The Middle East has been a major concern of the UN. In 1948, the first

UN military observer group monitored the truce called for by the Security

Council during the first Arab-Israeli war. The first peacekeeping force was

also set up in the Middle East, during the 1956 Suez crisis; it oversaw

troop withdrawal and contributed to peace and stability.

Two peacekeeping forces are deployed in the region. The UN

Disengagement Observer Force, established in 1974, maintains an area of

separation on the Golan Heights between Israeli and Syrian troops. In

southern Lebanon, a UN Force established in 1978 contributes to stability

and provides protection to the population.

Hand in hand with peacekeeping, the UN has sought a lasting settlement

in the Middle East. Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973)

set forth the principles for a just and lasting peace, and remain the basis

for an overall settlement. Following the 1993 landmark agreement between

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, a UN Coordinator has been

overseeing all development assistance provided by the UN to the Palestinian

people in Gaza and the West Bank. The UN Relief and Works Agency for

Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides essential health,

education, relief and social services to over 3 million registered

Palestinian refugees.

Military peacekeepers are the most visible, but not the only, UN peace

presence in the field. UN envoys and other civilian personnel are engaged

in diplomacy, human rights monitoring and other peace efforts in scores of

regions threatened or afflicted by fighting often in the most difficult

situations.

4.2 UN and Human Rights

The Charter goals of justice and equal rights, for individuals and for

peoples, have been pursued by the UN from its early days.

As one of its first tasks, the UN formulated the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights, a historic proclamation of the basic rights and freedoms

to which all men and women are entitled - the right to life, liberty and

nationality, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to work, to be

educated, to take part in government, and many other rights. The General

Assembly adopted the Declaration on 10 December 1948, a date commemorated

every year as Human Rights Day.

Two International Covenants adopted in 1966 - one on economic, social

and cultural rights and the other on civil and political rights - have

expanded and made legally binding the rights set forth in the Declaration.

These three documents constitute the International Bill of Human Rights, a

standard and a goal for all countries and peoples.

The UN has also put in place mechanisms to further human rights. The

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights coordinates all the human rights

activities of the UN, seeks to prevent violations, investigates abuses and

works with Governments in resolving violations.

The UN Commission on Human Rights is the only intergovernmental body

that conducts public meetings on human rights abuses brought to its

attention and reviews the human rights performance of all Member States.

Special reporters of the Commission monitor the human rights problems in

specific countries.

UN missions are monitoring the human rights situation in Haiti,

Guatemala and Eastern Slovenia (Croatia).

The Security Council has established international tribunals to try

persons accused of war crimes during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia

and in Rwanda. The tribunals have indicted several individuals and brought

a number of defendants to trial.

Self-determination and independence.

A fundamental right - self-determination, or the right of peoples to

govern themselves - was a goal when the Charter was signed. Today, it has

become a reality in most of the lands formerly under colonial rule.

In 1960, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting

of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, in which it proclaimed

the need to bring colonialism to a speedy end. Since then, some 60 former

colonial Territories, inhabited by more than 80 million people, have

attained independence and joined the UN as sovereign Members.

Today, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remain, inhabited by some 2

million people. The Assembly has set the goal of ending colonialism by the

year 2000, declaring the 1990s the International Decade for the Eradication

of Colonialism.

Namibia's independence

The UN helped bring about the independence of Namibia, achieved in

1990. The General Assembly in 1966 revoked South Africa's Mandate to

administer the territory - a decision South Africa rejected. Complex

negotiations led in 1989 to the implementation of the 1978 UN plan for the

independence of Namibia. The UN Transition Assistance Group was deployed

throughout Namibia to monitor the withdrawal of South African troops, the

registration of voters, and the 1989 elections, which led to the

installation of the first independent Government and to Namibia's

independence.

Election assistance

To further democratization, the UN has also observed elections, at

Government request, in sovereign member states: in Nicaragua and Haiti

(1990), Angola (1992), El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique (1994), as

well as the referendum on the independence of Eritrea (1993). In other

instances - such as Malawi, Lesotho and Armenia - the UN has coordinated

international observers provided by member states.

Observers typically follow the preparation and holding of the

election; on election day, they are deployed to polling stations throughout

the country, observe voting and vote counting, and issue a final statement

on the conduct of the election.

Since 1992, the UN has provided technical assistance in the

preparation and holding of elections to over 70 countries. Such assistance,

which may involve coordination and support, advisory services and short-

term observation, is instrumental in building the capacity of countries to

run their elections in the future.

Apartheid.

Apartheid applies to all aspects of life. Socially, blacks had to live

apart from the other races. Politically, they could not vote. Economically,

they could work only in the lowest paying occupations.

The UN helped to bring an end in 1994 to South Africa's apartheid

(racial segregation) system. For more than three decades, the UN carried

out a sustained campaign against apartheid. The campaign, which ranged from

an arms embargo to a convention against segregated sports events, helped to

bring about a democratically elected Government in 1994, through elections

in which, for the first time, all South Africans could vote. The UN

Observer Mission in South Africa assisted in the transition and observed

the election. With the installation of a non-racial and democratic

government, the apartheid system came to an end.

International law.

The UN has made major contributions towards expanding the rule of law

among nations through its development and codification of international

law. The International Court of Justice has assisted countries in solving

important legal disputes and has issued advisory opinions on UN activities.

The UN has initiated hundreds of conventions and treaties covering

virtually all areas of international law - from international trade to

environmental protection. Action has been particularly strong in human

rights law.

For instance, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women is the main international legal instrument to

further women's equality. The Convention against Illicit Traffic in

Narcotic Drugs is the key international treaty against drug trafficking.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea seeks to ensure equitable access by

all countries to the riches of the oceans, protect them from pollution and

facilitate freedom of navigation and research.

4.3 UN Humanitarian Assistance to Developing Countries

When countries are stricken by war, famine or natural disaster, the UN

helps provide humanitarian aid. Part of this aid is in the form of direct

assistance from the UN operational agencies and programs: The Office of the

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the UN (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the

World Food Program (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN

Development Program (UNDP).

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is

responsible for the protection and assistance of over 26 million people

around the world who have fled war or persecution, seeking at the same time

durable solutions to their plight. In early 1997, UNHCR's major operations

were in the Great Lakes region of Africa, with over 1.4 million people in

need; the former Yugoslavia (over 2 million people); and western Asia (some

2.3 million Afghan refugees).

All UN emergency relief is coordinated by the UN Emergency Relief

Coordinator, who heads the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

In 1996, the UN raised $1.3 billion for emergency assistance to over

22 million people around the world.

5. DISARMAMENT

5.1 UN Activity in the Sphere of Disarmament

Halting the arms race and reducing and eventually eliminating all

weapons of war are major concerns of the UN. The UN has been a permanent

forum for disarmament negotiations, making recommendations and initiating

studies. Negotiations have been held bilaterally and through international

bodies such as the Conference on Disarmament, which meets regularly in

Geneva.

The General Assembly adopted in 1996 the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a

landmark agreement that aims at banning all nuclear-weapon tests.

In a major step in advancing non-proliferation, States parties in 1995

extended indefinitely the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT). Under this Treaty, nuclear-weapon States agree not to

provide nuclear weapons to other countries and to pursue nuclear

disarmament; non-nuclear weapon States agree not to acquire nuclear

weapons. Concluded under UN auspices, the Treaty has been ratified by over

170 countries.

Other treaties have been concluded to prohibit the development,

production and stockpiling of chemical weapons (1992) and bacteriological

weapons (1972); reduce conventional armed forces in Europe (1990); ban

nuclear weapons from the seabed and ocean floor (1971) and outer space

(1967); and ban or restrict other classes of weapons

The United Nations proposed another disarmament agreement in 1972. The

100 nations that signed this Seabed Agreement agreed never to place nuclear

weapons on the ocean floor. Both the Soviet Union and the United States

were among the signers.

In 1996, States parties strengthened a Protocol restricting the use,

production and transfer of landmines – “silent killers” that slay or maim

some 20,000 people each year. According to the UN, there are some 110

million landmines in over 70 countries, and 2 million new landmines are

laid every year.

Mine Clearance

The subject of mine clearance is one of critical importance that has

recently taken center stage in the forum of pressing world issues. As

regards the work of the United Nations, the process of demining is

fundamental to the UN's ability to deliver programs effectively in war-torn

countries or post-war environments, whether such undertakings be related to

peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance or rehabilitation.

Over the past seven years, the need for mine clearance has grown

significantly in a number of regions around the world. As a result, the UN

is increasingly called upon to operate mine clearance programs in areas

that are completely infested with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Consequently, prior to any large deployment of personnel or equipment to a

given area, the UN must prepare for a safe working environment by

initiating preliminary mine clearance activities in localized areas. Once

this has been completed, a broader operation can be accommodated to conduct

mine clearance activities on a more comprehensive scale.

The clearance of areas for use by a supported nation is undertaken

only when specially mandated by the Security Council. It is standard

procedure for the UN to not only performs mine clearance but also to assist

a supported nation in the development of its own sustainable clearance

capacity. The UN program may include such topics as mine awareness, mine

marking, mine survey, mine clearance as well as unexploded ordinance

disposal. Additionally, the program's overall efforts may go beyond mine-

specific issues to cover related areas, such as management and logistics,

training and support.

The UN may vary its approach to each situation as there are currently

no standardized templates or universal procedures established for mine

clearance activities world-wide.

Mine Clearance in the United Nations is presently divided into two

areas of responsibility :

. which plans and advises on mine clearing activities carried out

under United Nations auspices as well as maintains contact with

Governments and organizations that participate in or contribute to

these activities.

. which serves as the focal point for coordinating all humanitarian

mine clearance and related activities.

These two units work together to ensure a seamless approach to United

Nations Mine Clearance Activities.

5.2 The Problem of Iraqi Military Arsenal

One of the last UN operations on eliminating all weapons was connected

with the investigation of Iraqi arsenal, as there were some data proving

that Iraq possesses very dangerous weapons that might be lethal to the

mankind.

The nation of Iraq is relatively young; the country achieved

independence in 1932. Since then, Iraq has been almost perpetually at war

with its neighbors. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, leading to the

1991 Persian Gulf War. Iraq has been under international sanctions since

the invasion and the United Nations refused to lift them until it is

convinced that Iraq has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. The

United States and Britain threatened air strikes in 1998 over Iraq's

refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors' free access to all sites. The

United States and its allies patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to

protect Kurds from attack and in the south to protect Shiite Muslims.

Almost all countries are concerned with Iraq's unwillingness to allow

UN inspectors investigate its military arsenal. For example Swedish

diplomat Rolf Ekeus - who led the UN investigations from the cease-fire

through the summer of 1997 and headed to Baghdad for talks, said that they

had declared everything. Iraq stated that no documents existed in Iraq

because they had been destroyed. That was exploded totally, because Iraq

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