The Establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force

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It was on the 4th of November , 1956 that 57 UN states voted in favor of Lester Pearson’s idea of establishing a large scale peacekeeping force. 1 This large scale peacekeeping force would be known as the United Nations Emergency Force ( UNEF) and would be responsible to securing an end to the Suez Crisis. The idea was for the British,French and Israeli forces to withdraw from the canal and the UNEF would remain in the canal area stabilizing the situation. 2 The UNEF was responsible for looking after the Suez Canal, facilitating the departure of Israeli, British and French forces and keeping the peace between opposing sides. A cease fire was arranged on the 6th of November and the forces of the UNEF arrived in Cairo on November 15. Thanks to Lester B. Pearson, the UNEF effectively brought about a resolution to the conflict between Egypt, Israel, Great Britain and France. Lester B. Pearson’s idea was not Canada’s only contribution to the Suez Crisis, over 1000 men and women were sent to Egypt as part of the UNEF. Canada’s role in the Suez Crisis was a critical point in Canadian politics and would reflect Canada’s future role as one of the worlds leading peacekeeping nations. Nuclear war was becoming an increasing possibility but the creation of the UNEF lead to the withdrawal of Israeli, British and French forces which resolved the Suez Crisis.

After the Israeli, British and French invasions, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev threatened to bomb Israel, Britain and France with nuclear weapons if they did not withdraw their forces. It was at that moment that the prospect of nuclear war became a possibility. At the time the Soviet Union was looking to strengthen its ties in the Middle East, therefore by going to war in the defen...

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...anada and Lester B. Pearson’s success in preventing the outbreak of war, Canada earned world wide recognition and respect and became a major peacekeeping force.

With the creation of the United Nations Emergency force, Canada’s Lester B. Pearson revolutionized the modern concept of peacekeeping which lead to the resolution of the Suez Crisis and at the same time brought Canada world wide recognition and international stature.

Thanks to the UNEF, the Suez Crisis was resolved. Had the UNEF failed, nuclear war would have been a likely possibility. Canada’s role in the Suez Crisis helped Canada become a middle power. If it wasn’t for Canada, more people would have died, more people would have lost their loved ones and more people would have suffered. Canada played a vital role in saving the lives of millions of people and saving the world from another war.

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