Global perspective Human stories

UN report finds peace operations yield major dividends for many countries in 2002

UN report finds peace operations yield major dividends for many countries in 2002

Ranging in scope from disarmament to protecting human rights, United Nations peace operations around the globe yielded major dividends for a number of countries in 2002, according to a report published by the UN Department for Public Information (DPI).

Among the highlights mentioned in the "Year in Review: UN Peace Operations 2002" are the independence of East Timor, renamed Timor-Leste, following UN stewardship under a Transitional Administration, and the progressive restoration of peace and security in Sierra Leone with UN support for the disarmament and demobilization of former combatants - leading to the dissolution of the armed rebel movement - and for the conduct of national elections.

Other accomplishments include the establishment of the Interim Authority and the Transitional Administration in Afghanistan, in line with the Bonn Agreement that the UN help broker, and the successful completion of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), the most extensive police reform and restructuring operation ever undertaken by the UN.

In all, the UN maintained 15 peacekeeping operations and 13 political and peace-building missions in 2002. The operations ranged in strength from a handful of international and local staff, to thousands of military, police and civilian peacekeepers.

According to the report, as many as 90 UN Member States contributed uniformed personnel to these operations, which as of November, saw some 44,000 military personnel and civilian police deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world. Working with these uniformed personnel were some 3,661 international and 7,962 local civilian staff.

In the course of the year, 52 civilian and military personnel lost their lives while engaged in UN peace operations.