I. The meaning of Peacekeeping: Compared to the military authorisations,peacekeeping is a remarkable contribution of the United Nations towards world peace. This important activity,in fact,was not anticipated when the United Nations was founded.

II. Purposes for despatching Operations: 

1. The UN tries with this technique right from its early years. The first UN peacekeeping activity started in 1948 when the UN dispatched a small team of military observers to ensure peace after the first Arab-Israeli war. Since then, in all there have been 60 peacekeeping operations dispatched by the United Nations to restore or maintain peace in countries located in four continents-Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Two such operations restored peace between India and Pakistan.

2. In UN peacekeeping activity there are some notable turning points. For example, in 1956, a 6,000 strong force called United Nations Emergency Force could arrange, without firing a shot, withdrawal of foreign troops from Egypt.

3. In 1960 a much larger peacekeeping force ensured that it became a newly independent country and remained secure from foreign intervention and internal disintegration.

4. In 1993,an equally big operation took over administration of Cambodia and installed a democratically elected government there.

5. The end of the cold war in 1990 witnessed a rapid rise in the number of peacekeeping activities launched. Some were very successful, while others faced difficulties.

6. The examples of failed peacekeeping operations were in former Yugoslavia, Somalia and Rwanda.The overall worth of the UN peacekeeping was demonstrated when in 1988 this activity received the Nobel Peace Prize.