THIRD EDITION OF 'THE BLUE HELMETS' PUBLISHED
Press Release
PI/982*
PKO/54
THIRD EDITION OF 'THE BLUE HELMETS' PUBLISHED
19961203 The Department of Public Information (DPI) announced today the publication of the third edition of The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peace-keeping.The new edition traces the course of United Nations peace-keeping from 1948, when the first military observer group was deployed in the Middle East, through early 1996. It reviews the most intensive period in the history of peace-keeping: 23 of the 41 operations covered in the 1996 edition have been established since The Blue Helmets was last published in 1990. New chapters are devoted to these operations, and material from the second edition has been updated.
In an introduction to the third edition, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali observes that peace-keeping operations, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988, stand out as one of the United Nations most original and ambitious undertakings in its efforts to promote peace. As peace-keeping evolves, efforts are being intensified to define more clearly the principles of peace-keeping, including guidelines on how and when to act. "We must apply the lessons learned from setbacks and build upon our successes in order to deal more effectively with, and strive to prevent, the outbreak of conflict", the Secretary-General says. "The United Nations will then be in a better position to direct its full attention to long-term assistance aimed at development and democratization", he adds.
The new edition covers the full spectrum of United Nations peace-keeping activities, from "classical peace-keeping" -- in which military peace-keepers monitor cease-fires and buffer zones -- to complex operations involving military and civilian personnel engaged in a wide range of tasks. It provides a record of these new "second generation" operations which incorporate such activities as assistance in negotiating peace agreements and monitoring their
* Press Release PI/982 of 22 November 1996 should have been numbered PI/981.
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implementation, protecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance, preparing and conducting elections, and maintaining a secure and stable environment in areas shaken by armed conflict.
The Blue Helmets was prepared by DPI in close collaboration with the Departments of Peace-keeping Operations and Political Affairs, and in consultation with the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of Legal Affairs and the Peace-keeping Financing Division of the Department of Administration and Management, as well as the Centre for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. The new edition was called for by the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session.
An essential and unique reference work, The Blue Helmets is fully indexed. It assembles under one cover the main facts of 41 United Nations peace-keeping operations, along with deployment maps and organizational charts. For quick reference, an extensive appendix provides facts and figures on each operation, including its key personnel and headquarters, duration, contributing countries, strength, fatalities and financing.
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NOTE:The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peace-keeping (Sales No. E.96.I.14) will be available through the United Nations bookshop or from United Nations Publications at 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-853, New York, NY 10017. Tel. (212) 963-8302 or 1-800-253-9646; Fax (212) 963-3489; e-mail -- publications@un.org or Palais des Nations, C-129, Geneva 10, Ch-1211 Switzerland.
Order forms are available through the World Wide Web at http://www.un.org/Pubs/Sales.htm