UNITED NATIONS

Australia is a founding member and active participant in the United Nations (UN). The UN was established in 1945 with the hope of preventing another world war. The UN works to maintain international peace and security, offer humanitarian assistance, protect human rights, and uphold international law, along with a range of Sustainable Development Goals.

Image Source: Role of the General Assembly

PEACEKEEPING

Peacekeepers are described to “provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace“. The intention of peacekeeping is to maintain separation between parties in conflict, allowing peaceful negotiations to take place.

Australia has a long history of providing personnel to peacekeeping missions around the world. In 2022, Australia commemorated 75 years of peacekeeping efforts.

You can view the current UN Peacekeeping Operations by clicking on the map below.

PEACEBUILDING

Peacebuilding, as defined by the United Nations, “involves a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict management, and to lay the foundations for sustainable peace and development.” Measures address the root cause of conflict and are critical to preventing and resolving further conflict.