United Nations peacekeeping began as a way of keeping the peace between hostile parties without the UN itself taking sides. The first armed peacekeeping force, the United Nations Emergency Force, was deployed in 1956 during the Suez Crisis, based on a proposal from the Canadian diplomat Lester Pearson and the Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. Earlier, small unarmed observer missions had been sent to the Middle East and Kashmir. Peacekeepers, called blue helmets, operate on principles of consent of the parties, impartiality and minimal use of force. Operations have been deployed across the world, with mixed success, and in 1988 the peacekeeping forces received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Before and after
- 13 November 1955Birth of Whoopi Goldberg
- 16 November 1955Birth of Guillermo Lasso
- from 1 December 1955 to 20 December 1956Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat
- 28 December 1955Birth of Liu Xiaobo
- 1956Founding of United Nations peacekeeping
- 1956Premiere of Eurovision Song Contest
- 1956Founding of Paris Club
- 1 January 1956Birth of Christine Lagarde
- 1956Founding of International Finance Corporation
More in Society, economy & sport
- 1950Origins of Formula One
- 8 August 1967Founding of ASEAN
- 10 December 1987Rise of Hamas
- 9 September 1999Founding of African Union
- 11 September 2001September 11 attacks
- from 15 November 2019 to 5 May 2023COVID-19 pandemic
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.