Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
One of the primary mandates of the United Nations, as stated in its Charter, is the maintenance of international peace and security. It achieves this through diplomacy, sanctions, and the deployment of peacekeeping forces.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Two examples of the UN's success in establishing peace are:
1. The Suez Crisis (1956): When Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, it led to an invasion by Israel, the United Kingdom, and France. The situation threatened to escalate into a larger conflict involving the US and the Soviet Union. The UN General Assembly intervened decisively. It established the first large-scale armed UN peacekeeping force, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). UNEF's deployment secured the cessation of hostilities and supervised the withdrawal of the invading forces, successfully de-escalating a major international crisis and pioneering the concept of armed peacekeeping.
2. The Cambodian Peace Process (1991-1993): After decades of civil war and the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, the UN was tasked with a complex peace-building mission. The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was one of the largest and most ambitious UN missions ever. It was successful in disarming the warring factions, repatriating hundreds of thousands of refugees, promoting human rights, and organizing free and fair elections in 1993, which helped establish a new government and bring an end to the long-standing conflict.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The UN's successful intervention in the Suez Crisis by deploying the first peacekeeping force and its comprehensive role in ending the Cambodian civil war through the UNTAC mission are two prominent examples of its success in establishing international peace.