What is the scope of United Nations peacekeeping?
Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, there have been 55 United Nations peacekeeping operations. Forty-two of those operations have been created by the Security Council since 1988. There are currently 13 United Nations peacekeeping operations in the field. Peacekeeping initially developed as a means of dealing with inter-State conflict and involved the deployment of military personnel from a number of countries, under UN command, to help control and resolve armed conflict. Today, peacekeeping is increasingly applied to intra-State conflicts and civil wars. In recent years, peacekeeping tasks have become more varied and complex and, although military personnel remain the backbone of most peacekeeping operations, proportionately larger numbers of civilians work alongside the military personnel. Tasks range from keeping hostile parties peacefully apart to helping them work peacefully together. This means helping implement peace agreements, monitor ceasefires, create buffe
