This mission was also called the Spinelli Mission. Piero P. Spinelli was the Special Representative (1958-1967).
Established March 1946, officially closed 31 December 1946 (liquidation in process until the end of 1947).
The primary functions of the Office were to staff and service European-held conferences, to finance and staff United Nations offices abroad, and to recruit personnel for the new United Nations.
The Office had evolved further to the dissolution of the London-based Preparatory Commission of the United Nations, which had closed after the conclusion of the first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (held in London).
The Office reported to the Secretary-General, by this time based in New York.
By May 1946 it was organized into the following sections: Languages, Information, General Services, Finance, and Personnel. The Executive Director was F. C. Sharpley. When liquidation of the Office had been completed, the remaining staff were formally merged with the new United Nations London Information Centre (under the Department of Public Information).
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) was established in 1955 and was restructured numerous times. DESA’s structure was reorganized most recently during the 1997 reform package that included a number of changes to the Secretariat structure. DESA provides support in the General Assembly and in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), its functional commissions and expert bodies on development issues. As of 2015, DESA is comprised of the following divisions: Population; Social Policy and Development; Public Administration and Development Management; Statistics; Financing for Development; United Nations Forum on Forests; Development Policy and Analysis; ECOSOC Support and Co-ordination; and Capacity Development Office.
The mission of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is to “promote development for all,” with a focus on economic, social and environmental challenges. There are numerous predecessor organizations that have contributed to DESA's mission, including the Department of Economic Affairs (1946-1954); Department of Social Affairs (1946-1954); Technical Assistance Administration (TAA) (1950-1958); United Nations Office of Interagency Affairs and Coordination (IAAC) (1969-1977); Development and International Economic Cooperation (DIESA) (1978-1991); the Office of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation (1978-1991); Department of Technical Co-operation for Development (DTCD) (1978-1991); Department of Economic and Social Development (1992); Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (1992-1996); Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (1993-1996); Department for Development Support and Management Services (1993-1996). See individual subfonds for administrative histories of each predecessor organization. The USG from 1997-2002 was Nitin Desai, succeeded by José Antonio Ocampo (2003-2007), Sha Zukang (2007- 2012), and Mr. Wu Hongbo (2012-present).
The United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) was established 9 April 1991 by means of Security Council resolution 689 (1991). UNIKOM's original mandate was to monitor a newly created demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the Iraq-Kuwait border, which included the determent of boundary violations and observation of hostilities between the territories of Iraq and Kuwait. In addition, UNIKOM maintained contact with and provided support to other United Nations missions in these two countries.
Following a number of incidents along the border in its first two years, on 5 February 1993, per resolution 806 (1993), the UNIKOM mandate was expanded to include the capacity to physically prevent or respond to violations in the DMZ. With the arrival of a mechanized infantry battalion in late 1993, UNIKOM's operations were modified accordingly; on 1 January 1994, the Head of Mission's appointment was changed from Chief Military Observer to Force Commander. On 17 March 2003, with the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq eminent, the Secretary-General suspended UNIKOM's operations. On 3 July, Security Council extended UNIKOM's mandate for a final six-month period, and on 6 October, UNIKOM was dissolved by resolution 1490 (2003).
The task of the Mediator was to negotiate armistice agreements with Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Ralph J. Bunche was appointed as Acting Mediator after the assassination of the Mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, in September 1948.
Headquarters officials whose files are represented include Colonel Thor Bonde, General Aage Lundstrom, General William E. Riley, the Central Truce Supervision Board, Special Truce Investigation Team, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Political Advisor to the Chief of Staff, Legal Advisor to the Chief of Staff H. Courtney Kingstone, and senior United Nations Military Observers.
Also included are the same types of documents from the files of Henry Vigier, who was Personal Deputy of the Acting Mediator and Principal Secretary; representatives in Tel Aviv; J.J. Cebe-Habersky, who was Representative of the Mediator in Syria and Lebanon in Beirut; Pable de Azcarate, who was Representative of the Mediator in Cairo; and the Disaster Relief Project in Beirut, Lebanon, and Amman, Jordan. Of note are some reports of Count Folke Bernadotte in the files of Pable de Azcarate.
The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was reconstituted in 1973 in order to supervise the cease-fire, to prevent recurrence of hostilities in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War and to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was stationed on the cease-fire line in Egypt.
The UNEF cable communications with UN Headquarters were relayed through UNTSO Headquarters in Jerusalem and Geneva. The administrative and logistic matters were under the jurisdiction
of a Chief Administrative Officer who had a civilian staff to assist him.
Participating Countries: Australia, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland (1973-74), Nepal (1973-74), Panama (1973-74), Peru (1973-74), Poland, Senegal (1973-74), Sweden.
The UN Observation Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL) was created in 1958 and ended in December 1958. Its purpose was to prevent troops and weapons entering Lebanon during the Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country.
Up to the late 1980s, peacekeeping missions were operated by six officials in the United Nations Office of Special Political Affairs. This office was created by Dag Hammarskjöld in response to the Cold War stalemates occurring in the Secretariat. Originally, the office had both an American and a Soviet official as equals. They took on projects that were not specifically under the mandate of the Secretariat, like conflict control. For the first three years (1955-1957), the office was referred to as the Office of Under-Secretaries without Department. The first Under-Secretaries-General were Ralph J. Bunche (1955-1970) and Ilya S. Tchernychev (1955-1956), followed by Anatoly F. Dobrynin (1957), Sir Humphery Trevelyan (1958), C.V. Narasimhan (1959-1961), Omar Loutfi (1962), Dragoslav Protitch (1963-1964), Jose Rolz-Bennett (1965-1970), Roberto E. Guyer (1971-1978), Brian E. Urquhart (1972-1985) (see also AG-023), Javier Perez (1979-1980), Diego Cordovez (1981-1988), and Marrack I. Goulding (1986-1991).
Established by Security Council resolution 814 (1993) of 26 March 1993, UNOSOM II took over the work of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), a multinational force responsible for creating a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia. UNOSOM II was to complete, through disarmament and reconciliation, the task begun by UNITAF for the restoration of peace, stability, law and order. The mission's principal activities included: monitoring of factions; violence prevention; weapons control; securing of transportation hubs; protecting personnel, equipment, and installations of UN and non-UN agencies; mine clearance; and assisting refugees and displaced persons. On 4 February 1994, the Security Council, by its resolution 897 (1994), revised UNOSOM II's mandate to include, inter alia, assisting the Somali parties in implementing the Addis Ababa Agreements, aiding in the reorganization of theSomali police and judicial system, and helping in various aspects of the country's political process. During the mission's mandate, three persons served as head of mission (HoM) and special representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG): Jonathan T. Howe, from March 1993 to February 1994; Lansana Kouyate (Acting), from February to June 1994; and James Victor Gbeho, from July 1994 to April 1995. Lieutenant-General Çevik Bir served as the mission's force commander from April 1993 to January 1994; Lieutenant-General Aboo Samah Bin Aboo Bakar served in this capacity from January 1994 to March 1995. UNOSOM II was withdrawn from Somalia in early March 1995.
In Africa, the United Nations was assisting the former Italian colonies of Libya, Eritrea and Somaliland to achieve independence. Through the Trusteeship System and the Charter provisions relating to other Non-Self-Governing Territories, the United Nations
offered the Administering Powers and the peoples under their jurisdiction the best opportunity for peaceful progress towards co-operation for mutual welfare.
By resolution 289 A (IV), adopted at the fourth session on 17 November 1950, the Genera