seek peaceful solutions to disputes. But ultimately, the success of

peacekeeping depends on the consent and cooperation of the opposing

parties.

The UN does not have an army. For each peacekeeping mission, member

states voluntarily provide troops and equipment, for which they are

compensated from a special peacekeeping budget. Police officers, election

observers, human rights monitors and other civilians sometimes work

alongside military personnel in peacekeeping operations. Lightly armed for

self-defense — and often unarmed — peacekeepers’ strongest “weapon” is

their impartiality. They rely on persuasion and minimal use of force to

defuse tensions and prevent fighting. It is dangerous business;

approximately 1,500 UN peacekeepers have died in the performance of their

duties since 1945.

Rank-and-file soldiers on peacekeeping missions do not swear

allegiance to the United Nations. Governments that volunteer personnel

carefully negotiate the terms of their participation — including command

and control arrangements. They retain ultimate authority over their own

military forces serving under the UN flag, including disciplinary and

personnel matters, and may withdraw their troops if they wish. Peacekeeping

soldiers wear their own national uniforms. To identify themselves as peace-

keepers, they also wear blue berets or helmets and the UN insignia.

The cost of UN peacekeeping personnel and equipment peaked at about $3

billion in 1995, reflecting the expense of operations in the former

Yugoslavia. Peacekeeping costs fell in 1996 and 1997, to $1.4 billion and

some $1.3 billion, respectively — and estimated budgetary requirements for

1998 are expected to drop to under $1 billion.

All Member States are obligated to pay their share of peacekeeping

costs under a formula that they themselves have agreed upon. But as of 15

March 1998, member states owed the UN $1.7 billion in current and back

peacekeeping dues. The United States is by far the largest debtor, owing

$958 million.

Since 1945, there have been 48 United Nations peacekeeping operations.

There are currently 16 under way. Thirty-five peacekeeping operations were

created by the Security Council in the years between 1988 — when UN

peacekeeping operations were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — and June 1998:

…in Africa

In Angola, UN mediation led to the 1994 peace accord and to the

installation of a government of national unity in 1997, formally uniting a

country devastated by 20 years of civil war. A UN operation is in place to

help put the peace accord into effect. The UN also continues to provide

humanitarian assistance to the Angolan people.

In Somalia, after the outbreak of civil war in 1991, the UN brought

relief to millions facing starvation and helped to stop the large-scale

killings. From 1992 to 1995, two UN operations sought to restore order,

protect delivery of humanitarian relief, promote reconciliation and help

reconstruction. Under difficult conditions, various UN agencies continue to

provide humanitarian assistance.

The UN helped secure peace in Mozambique. The UN Operation in

Mozambique (ONUMOZ) was deployed in the country in 1992 to help put into

effect the peace agreement between the Government and the Mozambican

National Resistance. ONUMOZ monitored the cease-fire, verified the

demobilization of combatants, coordinated humanitarian aid and observed in

1994 the country's first multi-party elections, which led to the peaceful

installation of a new Government. Today, the World Bank, the UN Development

Program and other parts of the UN family are working with the Government to

help forge the economic and social progress needed to underpin the

democratic process.

…in Asia

The UN helped end the 12-year conflict in Cambodia and organized the

1993 elections that led to the installation of a new Government. Earlier,

the Secretary - General had used his "good offices" in the search for

peace, helping to mediate the 1991 peace accord. The UN Transitional

Authority in Cambodia was then deployed to supervise the cease-fire between

the parties, disarm combatants, repatriate refugees, and organize and

conduct the elections.

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

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