The United Nations Protection Force in former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR): A Case study for future peace-keeping operations

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the institution of peace-keeping and tries Ic illustrate nevvrequiremeTrts'for'peaoe-keeping'Dperatiahs in Ihe^’post-Cbrci' War'era' througn' the explanation and examination of the United Nations Protection Force in Former ViK;'>s!ayia (UNPROFOR). Although Dag Hammarskjöld stated that the peace-keeping operations functioned within the framework of Chapter *six-and-ha!f' of the UN Charter during the Cold War era. permanent members of the United Nations mainly used them to deal with local and regional conflicts rather than employing coercive measures within the framework of Chapter VII in order to cool off and localize the conflicts and to prevent third party involvement. UNPROFOR has implied that the institution of peace-keeping s.hould be transformed into a new structure in order to provide ar; ansv/er to the require:v-nts of li'i;·.· post-Cold War era. Because, the conflicts have betxjms much more complicated than those during the Cold War era, and the parties have also become much more intricate. Thus, continuation of the traditional peace-keeping structure may not be sufficient to deal with the inter-ethnic and intra-state conflicts in the post-Cold War era in order to maintain international peace and security.