History of Canadian Peacekeeping

Since 1948, Canadian men and women have taken part in virtually every
United Nations peacekeeping initiative, and in six non-UN missions as well.
The blue beret of the United Nations has been worn by more than 50,000
Canadian servicemen and women more than from any other nation.
The United Nations, an organization made up of countries from around the
world, was founded in 1945 to help establish and maintain peace. The first
peacekeeping operation by the United Nations was set up in 1948 to observe
and oversee a truce made after the Israeli-Arab war of 1948. This operation
continues today. A second observation operation was established in 1949 in
India and Pakistan. In 1956, though, the United Nations began a larger role of
peacekeeping missions, which involved more than simply observing.
It was Canadian, Lester B. Pearson, then Canadas Secretary of State for
External Affairs, who was proposing to the United Nations General Assembly
how an international peacekeeping force would work. Mr. Pearsons proposal
helped keep peace during the Suez Crisis of 1956, and he won a Nobel Peace
Prize for his efforts.
War had erupted in the Suez, when Western interest withdrew financing for
Egypts Aswan Dam. On July 26, 1956, Egypt responded by nationalizing the
Suez Canal, angering Britain and France who were shareholders in the Canal
Company. On October 29, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. Then, the
main task for the UN was to find a face-saving measure for Britain and
France, allowing them to withdraw their forces.
The United Nations General Assembly authorized negotiating a ceasefire and
securing the withdrawal of all forces. The first United Nations Emergency
Force was immediately organized and sent to Egypt, using surplus helmets
spray-painted blue to identify themselves, because there wasnt time to have
helmets made. Thus, the blue beret and the blue helmet of the UN
Peacekeeper came into being. Peacekeepers wore their own countries
military uniforms and donned the helmet or beret of the UN.
In the words of UN Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar, Never before in
history have military forces been employed internationally, not to wage war,
not to establish domination and not to serve the interests of any Power or
group of Powers, but rather to prevent conflict between peoples.
Peacekeeping uses soldiers as the servants of peace, rather than as
instruments of war. It introduces to the military sphere the principles of nonviolence.
Recent estimates have put the annual cost of UN peacekeeping missions at
about $800 million, and Canada pays its share of that at least $62 million a
year. Canada is one of the most important peacekeeping countries in the
world.