An international organization that monitors compliance with a cease-fire, troop withdrawal or other conditions of a peace agreement and may, if necessary, intervene to prevent violations. Peacekeeping missions typically include a mix of military and civilian troops from several countries to provide a wide range of capabilities including police, humanitarian aid workers and logistical support.
Research shows that peacekeeping missions reduce battlefield and civilian deaths and the risk of a renewed conflict. However, they can be vulnerable to escalation when forces are under pressure and to biased overreactions from one side to another.
The day commemorates the lives of the more than 4000 soldiers and police women who have died in service as UN Peacekeepers since 1948. Despite their tragic losses, the world would be far more dangerous and less stable without UN Peacekeeping missions.
Peacekeeping missions are authorized and financed by the UN Security Council which can block any mission through its power of veto. The Security Council must also vote to renew the mandates of existing missions when they expire.
The photos in this exhibition showed the many ways that the men and women from 124 countries who make up the current force of nearly 1 million women and men on 71 missions around the globe help keep communities safe and secure. These include monitoring the border through regular patrols to detect breaches of the Blue Line, supporting local people with a myriad of projects to improve their health and economic circumstances and clearing landmines from farmers’ fields and other areas close to the Line.
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