UN Peacekeeping Missions in Central America

This research paper examines the origins, mandates, operations and accomplishments of the first peacekeeping missions of the United Nations (UN) in Central America, the UN Observer Group in Central America, (ONUCA) 1989-1991 and the UN Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) 1991-1995.

As the Cold War wound down and especially after it ended, ethno-religious, social and other civil conflicts broke out and intensified in many areas of the world. These conflicts placed increasing demands on the UN to carry out various kinds of peacekeeping missions for which it often was ill-prepared structurally, financially and in other ways. In Nicaragua and El Salvador, the cessation of outside military assistance to indigenous revolutionaries, regional initiatives, exhaustion of local combatants and other developments provided openings for the beginning of peace processes, involving the contending forces and groups in each society. During 1989-1991, ONUCA, despite numerous obstacles and a hesitant beginning, played an important role in verifying a cease-fire, separating combatants and demobilizing the Nicaraguan Resistance or Contras. Under even more demanding circumstances, ONUSAL performed similar tasks in El Salvador during 1991-1995 and also facilitated a meaningful political dialogue between the Salvadorian government and guerrilla forces and the adoption of the internal reforms needed to begin a process of reconciliation o

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nized international human rights laws and standards. The initial mandate of ONUSAL, approved by the Security Council in May 1990, was to verify such compliance and to monitor other peace agreements between the parties. After they reached agreement on all substantive aspects of the peace process under the Peace Agreement signed in Mexico City in January 1992, the Security Council enlarged ONUSAL's mandate to include verification of a cease-fire, the separation of forces, terminating FMLN as a fighting force, and the reintegration of its members into Salvadoran society. ONUSAL functioned under this mandate, with several extensions of time, until its operations were wound down in April 1995. Operations of ONUCA and ONUSAL ONUCA served primarily to verifiy, monitor and help implement agreements between the parties for ending the war between the Government of Nicaragua and the Contras. Its first function in 1989-1990 was "to monitor border regions to verify states' compliance with obligations to cease all assistance to regional insurgent forces." This was a limited operation, involving the dispatch of mobile patrols on land, by helicopters and later patrol boats. It started with a small 18 man survey team and built up to hundreds
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Approximate Word count = 2500
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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