Jordan - Foreign Affairs - A Commitment to World Peace

Under the command of the UN Security Council, peacekeeping operations are a temporary multinational measure designed to maintain international peace and security. Peacekeepers normally monitor implementation of agreements between hostile parties, observe a situation and report to the secretary-general, provide emergency medical services, assist in the resettlement of refugees, enforce embargoes, monitor elections and supervise troop withdrawals. Their primary purpose, however, is to serve as a buffer force between two or more warring parties. Peacekeeping operations are usually established with the consent of the parties involved, along with essential personnel and financial support from Security Council members.

Peacekeeping troops, otherwise known as “blue berets” or “blue helmets,” are divided into two categories—observer missions, which are usually unarmed, and infantry units, which are lightly armed. UN forces can also include civilian police monitors, support staff or volunteers to serve in political, humanitarian and administrative capacities.

Peacekeeping requires diplomacy and tact as much as it does combat skills. The nature of peacekeeping operations was described by Javier Perez de Cuellar, the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the 1988 Nobel Prize Awards:

To remain calm in the face of provocations, to maintain composure when under attack, the United Nations troops, officers and soldiers alike, must show a special kind of courage, one that is more difficult to come by than the ordinary kind. Our United Nations troops have been put to the test and have emerged triumphant.

In recent years, a significant portion of Jordan’s military personnel have participated in UN peacekeeping operations, illustrating the country’s global commitment to peace. The previous charts summarize Jordan’s recent contributions to UN peacekeeping missions throughout the world. In the course of performing their duties in the UN peacekeeping operations, seven Jordanians have lost their lives and 185 have been injured.