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UN Charter Enters Force
The creation of the United Nations provided a powerful new organization with the ability to intervene to protect human rights. -
The UN Security Council Holds its First Meeting
The United Nations Security Council has a mandate to investigate and resolve situations threatening international peace. The Security Council has gradually come to recognize grave human rights abuses as threats to international security. -
Belgium Intervenes in Congo
Belgium invaded Congo to restore order after chaos swept the country immediately following its independence. Belgium's motives were called into question because Congo was their former colony. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Requiring Belgium to WIthdraw its Troops
The UN Security Council Passed a resolution requiring Belgium to withdraw its troops and deploying a 35,000 strong UN Peacekeeping force in their place. -
US and Belgium Intervene in Congo to Extract Hostages
Anger about white South African mercenanies led Congo's rebels to take white and foriegn hostages which they threatened to execute. The US and Belgium militarily extracted hostages held by the rebels. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for a Cease Fire in the Congo and for Other Nations to Not Intervene in Congo's Domestic Disputes
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 199, which called for a Cease Fire between the government and the rebels. It also requested that other states not intervene in Congo's ongoing conflict. -
US Intervenes in the Civil War in the Domenican Republic
The United States intervend in the civil war in the Domenican Republic with the stated goal of protecting US civilians. However, the US troops openly supported the loyalist side once there. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for a Factfinding Mission to the Dominican Republic
The UN Security Council Passed Resolution 203 which called for a factfiding mission to the Dominican Republic. Before this resolution could executed, the Organization of American States stepped in and imposed a settlement centered on an international military force keeping the peace. -
Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty is Passed
The Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty frobids UN member states from interfering in the domestic afairs of nother member state on any grounds. This resolution reflected a strong anticolonial sentiment in the United Nations at the time. To this day, it is used as a precedent by states that oppose humanitarian intervention on the grounds of national soveriegnty. -
Civil War Breaks Out in Eastern Pakistan
A civil war broke out in Eastern Pakistan between the followers of the Awami League, hich called for independance and the government, which did not want them to break away. The army slaughtered large numbers of civilians. -
India Invades Eastern Pakistan
Pakistan bombed ten Indian airfields as part of an escalating border dispute. India responded by invading Eastern Pakistan and granting it independence. -
UN General Assembly Passes Resolution Calling for Cease Fire and Withdrawl between India and Pakistan.
The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2793 which called for both India and Pakistan to agree to a cease fire and complete withdrawl from eachother's territory. This only caused India to withdraw because Pakistan had no occupying force in India. -
UN General Assembly Passes Resolution Calling for a Cease Fire and a Withdrawl of Foriegn Forces firom Cambodia
The UN Gerneal Assembly passed Resolution 34/22 which called for a cease fire between Cambodia and Vietnam. Vietnam also had to withdraw its troops from Cambodia. Viewtnam partially justified its intervention in humanitarian terms. -
Phnom Penh falls to Vietnam
Vietnam responds to years of agression with an all out invasion of Cambodia. -
US Invades Grenada
The US invaded Grenada is response to a coup that occured on the island. The US justified their intervention on the grounds that they had a responsibility to protect human rights and restore public order. Only America and its allies supported the new concept of intervening on humanitarian grounds. America vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that would have condemned the invasion. -
The US Invades Panama and Deposes Noriega
The US invaded Panama and arrested Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking. The US offered a number of justifications for its invasion including defense of its nationals, responsibilities under the Panama Canal Treaty, the right to stop drug trafficking, and restoring democracy in Panama. The US vetoed a resolution condemning its actions in the UN Security Council, but the same resolution passed in the General Assembly. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for Iraq to Withdraw from Kuwait
Eleven hours after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 660, which called for Iraq to unconditionally withdraw its forces. -
UN Security Council Passes the First of a Series of Resolutions Calling for Sanctions Against Iraq.
The UN Security Council Passed Resolution 2793 which called for comprehensive sanctions on Iraq in response to their invasion of Kuwait. It was followed by Resolution 665 which imposed a naval blockade and resolution 670 which did the same for aviation. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for an Invasion if Iraq Does not Withdraw from Kuwait
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 678 which called for military action if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15th of the following year. -
The US Launches a Ground Invasion in Support of the UN Security Resolution Calling for Iraq to Withdraw from Kuwait.
The US launched a ground invasion of Kuwait and parts of Iraq to enforce UN Scurity Council Resolution 678. The invasion quickly liberated Kuwait. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling on Iraq to Stop Persecuting Civilians and Allow Aid Workers Universal Access
The UN Security Council Passed Resolution 688 which condemned Iraqi mistreatment of the Kurds. The resolution also called for aid workers to have access to the entire country. The resolution allowed international organizations and countries to "contribute" to the relief effort in Iraq. The US used this provision to justify military airdrops of aid for the Kurds and a small number of troops deployed in Northern Iraq. Later this resolution was used to justify no fly zones over Iraq. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo of the Territory that was Formerly Yugoslavia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 713 which called for an arms embargo of the territories formerly known as Yugolsavia in response to the civil war the country was experiencing. Yugoslavia even went as far as to support the resolution themselves. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo of Somalia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 733 which placed an arms emargo on Somalia in response to its ongoing clan-based civil war. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Containing the First Sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 757 which placed broad sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro. Resolutions 787 and 820 were passed in the following year and served to tighten sanctions on the two nations. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Deploying Security Forces to Somalia to Protect Aid Workers
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 775 which deployed 3,500 troops to Somalia with the goal of providing security for peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. The soldiers were deployed too slowly and there were not enough of them to accomplish their misson. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo Against Liberia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 788, declaring Liberia's domestic conflict a threat to international security and instituting an arms embargo to be enforced by the Economic Community of West African States. The Security Council praised their intervention. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for the Deployment of a Multinational Force to Somalia to Stop Human Suffering
The UN Security Souncil passed Resolution 794 which allowed for the deployment of a multinational force led by the US to Somalia. The earlier failure of the UN deployment made this resolution necessary. The troops' mandate was to aid in the provision of humanitarian aid. This measure was undertaken on purely humanitarian grounds as opposed to previous conflicts with some measure of national interest. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Deploying UN Observers to Liberia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 866 which created the UN Observer Mission in Liberia. The force had a mandate to aid the Economic Community of West African States existing actions. -
UN Security Council Passes a Series of Resolutions Calling for Safe Zones around Bosnian Population Centers
The UN Security Council passed Resolutions 819 and 824 which created safe zones around Bosnian towns though to be under a grave threat of ethnic cleansing. The resolutions called for the zones to be protected by the UN Protection Force for the Former Yugoslavia. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Calling for a New UN Led Force in Somalia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 814 which handed off responsibility for Somalia back over to a UN led force. It also drastically expanded the force's mandate to include nation-building, disarming all sides, and arresting war criminals. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for the UN Peacekeepers to Bring Those Responsible for the Murder of Peacekeepers to Justice
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 775 in response to the murder of a large number of Pakistani Peacekeepers in Somalia. The resolution called for the peacekeepers to being those responsible for the attack to justice and restore law and order in Somalia. This resolution served to make the UN Peacekeepers actively involved in the civil war. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Placing Mandatory Sanctions on Haiti
In response to a coup in Haiti, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 841 which placed mandatory sanctions on the nation. -
UN Security Council Passes a Resolution Drastically Reducing the Number of UN Personnel in Rwanda
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 912 which reduced the number of UN personnel in Rwanda in response to the killing of UN Peacekeepers guarding the Prime Minister. The resoltuion reflected security concerns about the safety of UN personnel in the country but it had the side-effect of making it easier for genocide to occur in Rwanda -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo of Rwanda
The UN Security Council Passed Resolution 918 which called for an arms Embargo of Rwanda. It also called for an expansion of the UN force operating within Rwanda. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Authorizing Franch Intervention in Rwanda
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 929 which allowed France to intervene militarily to stop the killing in Rwanda. The French invasion caused the rebels to declare a cease fire, resolving the violence. -
UN Security Council Authorizes Military Action to Restore the Elected Government
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 940 which authorized military force to restore Haiti's democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power. -
UN Security Council Resolution Authorizes NATO to Enforce the Peace Agreement in the Former Yugoslavia
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1031 which authorized NATO to deploy forces to the former Yugolavia in order to enforce the newly signed peace agreement. The use of NATO as opposed to UN Peacekeepers in this resolution reflects their ealrier failures in the area. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Authorizing Military Intervention in Eastern Zaire
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1078 because Rwanda's chaos had spread into Zaire. While authorization was given, no country was enthusiastic about sending troops. The situation ultimately resolved itself before military intervention got off the ground. -
UN Security Council Authorizes Sanctions of Sierra Leone and Military Intervention
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1132 which authorized sanctions against Sierra Leone and military intervention to restore democracy. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling For UN Intervention in Sierra Leone
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1181 which authorized a UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone. THis was in response to the inability of the previous international force to protect civilians. -
UN Security Council Passes Resolution calling for a Cease Fire in Kosovo
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1199 which called for a cease fire in Kosovo and called for a political olution to the problem. Kosovo declared independance from Serbia in response to new restrictions on its autonomy. -
NATO begins Air Missions over Serbia and Kosovo
NATO's air missions over Kosovo and Serbia originally were verification missions, but they became bombing missions when Serbia did not cease fire. NATO argued UN Security Council Resolution 1199 was all the justification they needed for military intervention. -
The UN Security Council Authorized a UN Mission to East Timor
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1246 which created the UN Mission in East Timor. The mission was responsible for monitoring and provinding security for the referendum on independence. In the aftermath of the referendum, forces affiliated with the Indonesian Army attacked the UN. This caused the UN forces to withdraw. -
UN Security Council Authorizes International Force in East Timor
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1264 which authorized an international military deployment to East Timor with the goal of facilitating their transition to independence. The force would also check the Indonesian Army's illegal actions. -
UN Security Council Replaces International Force in East Timor with UN-Led One
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1272 which replaced the international force in East Timor with the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor.