How Has Peacekeeping Evolved - Essay Example

The United Nations Principle of peacekeeping had commenced during the height of the Cold War as a probable solution to the growing tensions between states by fielding military personnel who are either unarmed or lightly armed. This personnel is from various countries who could be called anytime by the UN Security Council when the observing of peacekeeping or ceasefires are being observed to uphold peace and security for all citizens, "as projected by the United Nations Charter." (UN Meeting New Challenges 2007).

The end of the Cold War had profoundly affected the role of world peacekeeping of the UN. The demise of polarization triggered the Security Council to establish a larger and more expanded peacekeeping mission, more often than not to persuade states to pursue peace agreements. Moreover, UN peacekeeping after the Cold War integrated into a non-military element form to guarantee sustainability. In addition, in 1992, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations was founded to support the more strenuous and complicated demand of post-Cold War international peacekeeping.

The post-Cold War era's role in the United Nations proved to be quite successful. An example of their peacekeeping success was in El Salvador, a country UN peacekeeping assisted during its transition period to peace. Unfortunately, "not all UN missions were successful, apparent as a result of the excessively positive assessment of the UN's peacekeeping ability." (UN Meeting New Challenges 2007). Yes, it did attain success in El Salvador, but the Security Council was obliged to pull out its troops in war zones in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Somalia because neither ceasefires nor the acknowledgment of the warring parties had been guaranteed.

And also, the reason being was that several of the mandates that had been approved for those missions looked seemingly "impossible to put into action with the resources and manpower provided." (UN Meeting New Challenges 2007). The UN's malfunction in the Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the 1994 Rwandan genocide precipitated the self-assessment period of UN peacekeeping. The United Nations had lost a load of a massive burden with the end of the US-USSR Cold War in 1990 and yet maintained its position as the arbitrator of world peace.

And although it lost some composure in its shortcomings in two of the world's most inhumane genocides, its objective remains the same, making the world a safer place. The period of reassessment of the UN with regards to its role had only shown that it is still willing to accept responsibility for maintaining its visions founded in the aftermath of the most destructive war in history. However, for the UN to regain its status and identity, it is up to the member nations to take the necessary steps and not solely rely on the UN for the world's affairs.