Peace and Security

The first elements of the new UN Emergency Force (UNEF) arrived in Cairo on 26 October 1973 to supervise the cease-fire between Egyptian and Israeli forces at the end of the Yom Kippur War. Seen here are members of the Austrian Battalion at UNEF Position 103, Suez Canal, Egypt.
UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata

FEATURE: From a first mission of 120 unarmed men – UN peacekeeping across the decades

29 December 2015
Global

It began when the United Nations was not even three years old, in the fog of the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, the Organization’s first peacekeeping mission – 120 unarmed men in motley uniforms, not a gun between them, fanning out across scrubby hilltops and desert cliffs to monitor a shaky truce.

Participants at the signing of a UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement in Skhirat, Morocco.
UNSMIL

UN welcomes ‘historic’ signing of Libyan Political Agreement

17 December 2015
Africa

Representatives from a broad range of Libyan society today signed a United Nations-brokered agreement on forming a national unity government, a move welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy for the country as among the “essential building blocks towards a peaceful, secure and prosperous Libya,” but also as “the beginning of a difficult journey” along that path.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon receives the report of the External Review Panel looking into allegations of sexual abuse by foreign military forces in the Central African Republic.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

Ban vows to act quickly after report finds UN failed to respond ‘meaningfully’ to Central African Republic abuse allegations

17 December 2015
Africa

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to urgently review the recommendations made by an independent panel that found that the United Nations did not act with the “speed, care or sensitivity required,” when it uncovered information about crimes committed against children by soldiers – not under UN command – sent to the Central African Republic (CAR) to protect civilians.

UN peacekeepers on patrol in Abyei.
UN Photo/Stuart Price

Security Council renews UN peacekeeping force in Abyei for another five months

15 December 2015
Africa

The United Nations Security Council today extended for another five months its interim peacekeeping force in Abyei, a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan, calling on both sides to swiftly resume regular meetings to resolve the oil-rich territory’s final status.

Special Representative Martin Kobler briefs the press after a two-day meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue in Tunis, Tunisia.
UNSMIL

Libyan parties set 16 December as date to sign political agreement – UN envoy

11 December 2015
Africa

The new United Nations envoy for Libya announced today that the parties to the country’s political dialogue process have agreed to set 16 December as the target date to sign the UN-facilitated agreement on forming a national unity government, aiming to bring an end to a crisis that has left nearly 2.4 million Libyans in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

Special Representative Martin Kobler (right) meets in Algeria with representatives of States neighbouring Libya.
UNSMIL

Libya: UN envoy urges endorsement of political agreement as way forward for ‘peace in unity’

7 December 2015
Africa

The top United Nations official in Libya has emphasized that the political agreement reached after wide consultations among Libyan parties and facilitated by the UN for more than a year, is the basis to end the North African country’s conflict.