Canada and International Peace Efforts
During the first half of the 20th century, more than 1.5 million Canadians were called upon to defend international peace and freedom in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. More than 110,000 Canadians lost their lives. Following these terrible conflicts, our country began looking for ways to prevent war. Peacekeeping and other peace support efforts are a natural extension of Canada's longstanding commitment to the principles of peace and freedom.
Following the Second World War, Canada was involved in military observer missions in the late 1940s, particularly during the Arab-Israeli and the India-Pakistan conflicts. However, it wasn't until 1956 that the term ‘peacekeeping’ entered the popular vocabulary... thanks to a Canadian.
During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester B. Pearson (later Canada's 14th Prime Minister) proposed that a multinational United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force be sent to Egypt to separate the Israeli, British and French troops from the Egyptian troops as they faced off over control of the Suez Canal. For his visionary idea, Mr. Pearson was awarded the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize.
Peacekeepers are traditionally placed between hostile forces to supervise cease-fires and the withdrawal of opposing forces. In more recent years, the role of Canadians in peace support operations has expanded to include the delivery of humanitarian aid, the supervision of elections, the repatriation of refugees, the disarming of warring factions and the restoration of shattered landscapes through the clearing of mines, etc. Another increasingly-important aspect of our peace efforts is helping nurture stable government and human rights, including the organization of electoral systems, and the training of police forces and the judiciary. These new international peace support activities now involve many Canadian civilians, in addition to the Canadian Forces. Our country’s active combat role in Afghanistan is a further evolution of our soldiers’ long-standing willingness to put their lives on the line to help others achieve peace and freedom - this time in a place where the active fighting continues.
Canada is one of a handful of countries to which the international community has regularly turned to obtain expert advice on peace support issues, as well as soldiers well-trained in the special skills needed for these kinds of missions. Canada has participated in the majority of peace support operations mandated by the UN Security Council over the years. Tens of thousands of Canadians have served in more than 40 international peace support operations, but Canada's contributions have come at a great cost. More 275 Canadians have died in such efforts in Afghanistan and around the world in the post-war years, and many more have been wounded, returning homes with injuries to body and mind that can last a lifetime.
In 1988, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded collectively to UN peacekeepers in recognition of their efforts over the years to curb violence and restore peace. A Canadian led the way in promoting peacekeeping as a tool to help end conflicts and Canadians have long had an international reputation for putting their lives on the line to support peace. We can all be proud that the prestigious Nobel Prize was awarded to so many Canadian peacekeepers.
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