150+ Canadians Day 02: Peacekeepers

150+ Canadians Who Contributed to Peace..., Education, News 0 Comments

Photo of Peacekeeper Memorial in Ottawa by Wikipedia contributor Andrijko Z.

UN Peacekeeping Operations contribute to peace through efforts to bring about an end to international conflicts around the world.#Canada150

United Nations Peacekeeping began in 1948 when the Security Council authorized the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East.  Since then, 69 peacekeeping operations have been deployed by the UN, 56 of them since 1988.  Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, as well as tens of thousands of UN police and other civilians from more than 120 countries have participated in UN peacekeeping operations.  More than 3,326 UN peacekeepers from some 120 countries have died while serving under the United Nations’ flag.

UN Peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

  • Consent of the parties;
  • Impartiality;
  • Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

There are currently 16 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on four continents.