…in Asia

The UN helped end the 12-year conflict in Cambodia and organized the 1993 elections that led to the installation of a new Government. Earlier, the Secretary - General had used his "good offices" in the search for peace, helping to mediate the 1991 peace accord. The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia was then deployed to supervise the cease-fire between the parties, disarm combatants, repatriate refugees, and organize and conduct the elections.

In Afghanistan, mediation by a UN envoy led to the 1988 agreements between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Soviet Union and the United States aimed at ending the conflict. To help put the agreements into effect, the UN deployed an observer mission, which also verified Soviet troop withdrawal. The Secretary - General and his envoys have continued to work for a peaceful settlement of the continuing civil war. UN agencies provide assistance to the some 2.3 million Afghan refugees.

...in the Americas

The UN has helped resolve protracted conflicts in Central America. In Guatemala, UN-assisted negotiations resulted in the 1996 peace accord, ending a 35-year conflict during which over 100,000 people were killed. The UN began supervising talks between the Government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity in 1991. In 1994, two agreements opened the way to a settlement of the conflict, and led to the deployment of the UN Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala. The Mission has remained in the country to help put into effect the peace accord.

In 1990, the UN observed the first democratic elections in Haiti. After a military coup in 1991 forced the President into exile, the UN mediated an agreement for the return to democracy. As Haiti's military leaders did not comply with the agreement, the Security Council authorized in 1994 the formation of a multinational force to facilitate the leaders' departure. After the landing of a United States - led multinational force, the exiled President returned to Haiti in 1994. A UN peacekeeping force, which took over from the multinational force in 1995, contributes to stability in the young democracy.

In El Salvador, the Secretary - General assisted in peace talks between the Government and the Farabundo Martн National Liberation Front (FMLN). His mediation led to the 1992 peace agreement between the Government and FMLN, which ended the 12-year conflict. A UN Observer Mission monitored all agreements concluded between the parties and observed the 1994 elections.

A UN mission deployed between 1989 and 1992 contributed to ending the fighting in Nicaragua. It helped demobilize some 22,000 members of the Nicaraguan resistance (also known as "contras"), who in 1990 turned in their weapons to the UN. Another mission observed the 1990 elections - the first UN-observed elections in an independent country.

Throughout Central America, UN specialized agencies and programs are working hand in hand to ensure that refugees are safely repatriated and provided with the tools to start over. They also provide training for civil servants, police, human rights monitors and legal professionals to promote good governance and the rule of law.

...in Europe

Following the 1995 Dayton-Paris peace agreements, four UN missions were deployed to help secure the peace in the former Yugoslavia. The largest of them, the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slovenia, was established to govern this area and help reintegrate it into Croatia.

From 1991, the UN worked strenuously to resolve the conflict, providing at the same time relief assistance to some 4 million people. To help restore peace, the UN imposed an arms embargo in 1991, while the Secretary - General and his envoy assisted in seeking solutions to the conflict. From 1992 to 1995, UN peacekeepers sought to bring peace and security to Croatia, helped protect civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and helped ensure that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was not drawn into the war.

UN agencies continue to provide humanitarian assistance to over 2 million people still suffering the effects of the conflict.

...in the Middle East

The Middle East has been a major concern of the UN. In 1948, the first UN military observer group monitored the truce called for by the Security Council during the first Arab-Israeli war. The first peacekeeping force was also set up in the Middle East, during the 1956 Suez crisis; it oversaw troop withdrawal and contributed to peace and stability.

Two peacekeeping forces are deployed in the region. The UN Disengagement Observer Force, established in 1974, maintains an area of separation on the Golan Heights between Israeli and Syrian troops. In southern Lebanon, a UN Force established in 1978 contributes