XI. Write the summary of the text “a Little Bit of History”.

1.1.6. The United Nations peacekeeping missions

Read the text to fulfil the tasks

The UN, after approval by the Security Council, sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the UN. The forces, also called the "Blue Helmets", who enforce UN accords are awarded United Nations Medals, which are considered international decorations instead of military decorations. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

The founders of the UN had envisaged that the organization would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible, however the outbreak of the Cold War made peacekeeping agreements extremely difficult due to the division of the world into hostile camps. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to become the agency for achieving world peace, as there are several dozen ongoing conflicts that continue to rage around the globe.

A 2005 RAND Corp study found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts. It compared UN nation-building efforts to those of the United States, and found that seven out of eight UN cases are at peace, as opposed to four out of eight US cases at peace. Also in 2005, the Human Security Report documented a decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, that international activism — mostly spearheaded by the UN — has been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict since the end of the Cold War. Situations where the UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also occasionally intervened include the Korean War (1950-1953), and the authorization of intervention in Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Text-study

I. Learn the following words.

Approval – одобрение;

peacekeeper – миротворец;

combatants – воюющие стороны;

to resume – возобновлять;

hostility – вражда;

to envisage – предусматривать;

outbreak – начало;

ongoing – продолжающийся;

to rage – бушевать;

effort – усилие;

decline – снижение;

abuse – нарушение;

albeit – хотя;

circumstantial – косвенный (о доказательствах);

to spearhead – возглавлять, направлять;

to intervene – вмешиваться;

authorization – санкция, разрешение.

II. Answer the following questions.

1. Where are the peacekeepers sent by the UN after the approval by the Security Council?

2. How are the peacekeeping forces formed?

3. What are the highest awards for the “Blue Helmets”?

4. What had the founders of the UN envisaged?

5. What was the influence of the Cold War on peacekeeping agreements?

6. What facts did the 2005 RAND Corp study reveal?

III. Choose a), b) or c) to complete the following statements about the text.

1. The UN sends peacekeepers to armed conflict regions … .

a) to continue military actions;

b) to enforce the terms of peace agreements;

c) to resume hostilities.

2. Peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided … .

a) by member states of the UN;

b) only by the USA;

c) only by the NATO countries.

3. … made peacekeeping agreements extremely difficult.

a) The expansion of NATO;

b) The formation of the EU;

c) The outbreak of Cold War.

4. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to be successful …

a) to become the agency for achieving the world peace;

b) to develop conflicts between different states;

c) to curb the arms race.

5. A 2005 RAND Corp study found the UN to be successful … .

a) in one out of five peace-keeping actions;

b) in four out of eight cases at peace;

c) in two out of three peace-keeping actions.