Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
Middle East Conflict
- © United Nations
The conflict in the Middle East has occupied the United Nations since its early years and is an item on the agenda drawing continued attention. In response to hostilities that have broken out at various times, the United Nations has sent impartial observers or peace-keeping forces to the region and has formulated principles for solving the underlying political problems.
In 1948, the first UN peacekeeping mission was deployed to the Middle East to supervise the truce imposed by the Security Council to end the first Arab-Israeli war, and during the Suez Crisis, in 1956, the UN created its first United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF I). At present, there are three peacekeeping operations in the region, UNTSO, UNIFIL and UNDOF.
The United Nations is engaged in identifying lasting solutions to bring about a permanent peace in the Middle East. The foundation to such a solution is laid down in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
In order to heighten international awareness of the question of Palestine and promote international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people, the General Assembly has established The Committe on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
A number of UN bodies, funds and programmes are involved in humanitarian assistance in the region. A United Nations Special Coordinator (UNCSO) has been established to provide a focal point within the United Nations system vis-à-vis the parties to the peace process, regional and international actors, and international and multilateral institutions.
UN Body | Full name | More information in DagDok |
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees | ||
United Nations Development Programme | ||
World Bank Group | ||
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia | ||
UN Centre for Human Settlements | ||
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
Documentation
Yearbook of the United Nations, Part One: Political and Security Questions , Chapter: Middle East provides an overview of the phases of the Middle East conflict and the peacemaking efforts of the United Nations with a detailed subject index. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of
The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
All UN Resolutions concerning the Question of Palestine are posted at the UN official web site.
Documents on Security Concil actions can be retrieved from the UN official web site, section Security Council, Question of Palestine, in the database UNISPAL.
A complete collection of relevant meeting records, resolutions and reports can be accessed through the UN archives of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
Information about the so called Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East initiated by the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union can be retieved from the link Mideast Roadmap at the UN official web site.
Databases and Indexes
A web portal on the Question of Palestine with a chronological overview, full text reports and resolutions and the database UNISPAL with relevant documents from 1917 onwards can be accessed from the UN official web site, section Peace and Security, Question of Palestine.
A web portal to peace and security issues linking UN main bodies and focal points and full text documents and reports is posted at the Official web site of the United Nations, section Issues on the UN Agenda, Qustion of Palestine.
The database UNISPAL -United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine - contains all full text documents relevant to the United Nations from 1917 onwards. It can be accessed through the UN official web site, section Peace and Security, Question of Palestine.
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to UN activities with links to full texts for recent years. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
Printed Indexes