restoring law & order and crime prevention - Peace Operations ...

29Also, in the post-Cold War period as the main danger to the world peaceshifted from international conflicts to internal conflicts and humanitariancrises in failed or collapsing states, the main objective of the peacekeepingoperations – to alleviate human suffering and to create conditions and buildinstitutions for self-sustaining peace – though remain unchanged, theprevailing circumstances in the international arena in the post-Cold Warperiod changed the way UN peacekeeping operations were undertaken. TheUN peacekeeping missions in this period were established mainly with theobjectives to prevent the outbreak of hostilities or to contain the spill-overof conflict and to create conditions for sustainable and lasting peace in thepost-conflict period. Major peacekeeping operations of the UN in the post–Cold War period during the 90’s, were in Somalia (1992 and 1993), formerYugoslavia (1995), DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999), andSierra Leona (1999). Since 2000 and ahead, missions in East Timor (2002),Liberia (2003), Haiti, (2004), Sudan (2005), Darfur 32 (2007) and Tchad(2007) are the most representative of the last generation of peaceoperations. (See Annexe 4; Current Peace Operations up to January 2010)CHAPTER III: The United Nations Police (UNPOL)1. Importance of UNPOL in Peacekeeping missionsAs seen in previous Chapters, initially when the United Nations startedintervening in the conflicts, the traditional peacekeeping operationsinvolved only military forces, ensuring holding of ceasefire between the32This mission, called UNAMID (UN Mission in Darfur) was the first Hybrid Mission deployed by UNhaving combined troops and police personnel from African Union (as regional organisation) and UnitedNations.