UNITED NATIONS MEDALS 2

Awarded (usually) for 90 days service in the relevant mission or campaign.

Australians took part in many of these. For a list go to Peacekeepers

UNAMIC-United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia, awarded November 1991 to March 1992 for 90 days service in Cambodia with UN forces.

The primary job of UNAMIC was to prepare for the second mission (UNTAC) by training Cambodians in the mine-detection and mine-clearance of the thousands of land mines buried throughout the major transportation routes and re-settlement areas. These mines were the result of the many years of civil war and the war with Vietnam which finally ended in September 1989.

This mission was absorbed into UNTAC in March 1992.

Consisting of 20 military observers, their task was to maintain close liaison with the Cambodian Government, to report to the Secretary-General on matters effecting security in Cambodia and to assist the Government in dealing with residual military matters related to the Paris Agreement. UNMLT was established for a single period of six months. Military Observers are eligible to receive the UNTAC medal.

ONUCA-United Nations Observer Group in Central America.

This medal was awarded for 90 days of service between December 1989 and January 1992 in Central America with UN Forces.

During the first half of the 20th century, the United States sought to maintain peace in Central and South America by invoking the policies of the "Monroe Doctrine" regarding the Western Hemisphere. 

This changed with the introduction of Communism into Cuba and the desire of Castro to spread the Marxist ideology throughout the region.

With Cuba and the United States each backing opposing sides, fighting spread from one country to the other until with the combined efforts of the UN and the OAS (Organization of American States) a truce was drafted. It became the mission of ONUCA to monitor the removal of foreign troops from all signatory nations and the cessation of aid to insurgent forces and then supervise the ensuing truce.

ONUSAL-United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador.

This medal was awarded for 90 days service in El Salvador between July 1991 and April 1995 with UN forces.

Revolutionary forces supported by Nicaragua and Cuba became a threat to the government of President Carlos Humberto Romero and unable to deal with them, his government was overthrown in a military-civilian coup. A fierce civil war ensued costing nearly 100,000 lives.

Finally in July 1991 this UN mission was established and ended the war in January 1992. It remained in El Salvador until April 1995 supervising the cease-fire, the reform of the armed forces, the creation of a new police force and the overall restoration of legal, electoral and economic systems.

Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975, but as a communist influenced government came to power they could not cope with the problems of enormous national debt and widespread famine. The resulting civil war ushered in a constitutional government in the late 1980's, but the internal problems continued. Finally in October 1992 a United Nations initiated peace agreement was signed in Rome by the belligerent parties.

This UN mission was begun in December 1992 to oversee the political, military, humanitarian and electoral provisions of this treaty. Free and fair elections were conducted, a new government took office and in December 1994 this UN mission was withdrawn. This medal was awarded for 90 days of service during this mission.

UNOSOM I & UNOSOM II-Awarded for two separate campaigns, United Nations Operations in Somalia from April 1992 to April 1993 (First Mission) and May 1993 to March 1995 (Second Mission).

In 1991 when the 21 year rule of General Muhammad Siad Barre came to an end the country of Somalia erupted in civil war between the various rival tribes. By the following year there were 300,000 casualties and 4 1/2 million people facing starvation.

In April 1992, the first of two United Nations missions to Somalia (UNOSOM I) was created to monitor a tentative cease-fire and provide protection and security for the UN's humanitarian efforts to provide the people with supplies and assistance.

The goals of the second mission (UNOSOM II) were to take over and expand the enforcement measures of UNITAF, to provide a secure environment for humanitarian aid, restore law and order and assist the Somali people in rebuilding their economy and their country's infrastructure. These United Nations missions failed and when UN troops withdrew in March 1995, no democratic government was in place and armed rebel groups still ruled most of the country. This medal was awarded for 90 days of service during either mission.

UNTEA-United Nations Temporary Executive Authority.

In 1949 the Netherlands granted independence to the new country of Indonesia, however the future disposition of the western portion of the country known as West Irian was not entirely clear. While the Dutch felt that the largely Papuan population should be free to decide their own future, Indonesia claimed this territory as theirs.

In 1962 Indonesian paratroops landed in West Irian and fought with Dutch and Papuan troops. The United Nations mediated a cease fire and the UNTEA took over administration of this territory in October 1962. UNSF was also created to assist in maintaining peace and security during the transition to Indonesian control. The operation proceeded relatively smoothly and the mission was terminated in April 1963.

In 1993 when fighting broke out along the border between Rwanda and Uganda a UN observer force (UNOMUR) was sent to deter an escalation of the violence. As a result of peace negotiations, provisions for the election of a democratic government and an expanded role of the UN required the creation of a second mission, UNAMIR, deployed in October 1993.

The peace was short lived owing to the unfortunate plane crash at the Kigali Airport in April 1994 which claimed the lives of the Presidents of Rwanda and neighboring Burundi. This triggered a full-blown civil war resulting in many casualties, however a French military initiative launched in June 1994 created a humanitarian safe zone for two million refugees while UN efforts towards peace resumed and this mission continues serving Rwanda today.

In 1989, the peaceful country of Liberia on the west coast of Africa erupted in a bloody civil war which claimed 150,000 lives and drove 700,000 more into neighboring countries. The country fell under the control of three opposing factions when in September 1993, the United Nations was requested to step-in and mediate a peace.

UNOMIL was established to monitor a cease-fire, prepare for general elections and provide humanitarian aid, but after numerous cease-fire agreements have erupted into new fighting the country of Liberia and the UNOMIL mission remain in a state of chaos to this day.

The country of Georgia, located on the Black Sea, became an independent state in December 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The next year, a revolt in the autonomous region of Abkhazia was put down by government troops and a cease-fire was signed.

Continual violations of the cease-fire led to a bloody military campaign against the central government by the Russian supported Abkhazis who took control of a large portion of the country.

In August 1993, the United Nations deployed the UNOMIG in an attempt to bring peace to the region. In May 1994 the UN mandate was expanded and a CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States or Russian Federation) peace-keeping force was also deployed to Georgia. This medal is awarded for 180 days of service with the UNOMIG operation which continues to this day.

The African nation of Rwanda gained independence in 1962 and immediately erupted in a bloody civil war between the Hutus, representing 90% of the population, and the Tutsis. The Tutis were exiled, but continued to seek power through violence.

From October 1990 until February 1993 several cease-fire agreements ended in fighting and finally a full-fledged civil war involving the neighboring country of Uganda. Both groups sought United Nations assistance and the UNOMUR was created. As the UN involvement was expanded, a new mission UNAMIR was formed and absorbed UNOMUR into the new operation. This medal was awarded for 180 days of service in Rwanda and Uganda.

The Government of Haiti has basically been unstable through most of the 20th century requiring the interdiction of the United States Marines on two separate occasions in 1915 and again in 1919.

Finally in 1990, the democratically elected government of Father Jean-Bertrand Aristede brought the hope of peace to Haiti, but this was short lived.

The UNMIH medal is awarded for 90 days service in Haiti with the subsequent mission awarded the same medal with an "UNSMIH" clasp.

When Croatia declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, fighting erupted between Croatian and Serbian forces over territory including the provinces of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. By August 1995, the Croatians were able to retake territory formerly occupied by the Serbs, but this led to the displacement of some 150,000 refugees.

The UNTAES mission was created in January 1996 to help stabilize and rebuild this northeast region of Croatia, establish and train a police force, prepare for local elections, help with refugee settlement, restore public services (mail and telephone), reopen the Zagreb-Belgrade highway and reopen the Adriatic pipeline to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This mission is still in place with more work to be done.

With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajikistan declared its independence as did many of the former states which were the USSR. Almost immediately, a civil war engulfed the region as the ethnic minorities, mainly Islamic, formed a coalition and seized power.

The result of the civil war was thousands dead and nearly one million people displaced with the heaviest fighting along the border with Afghanistan. The UN sent a Special Envoy who succeeded in mediating a cease-fire and the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) was deployed in December 1994. The goals of this mission having been completed, the mandate was terminated in May 2000.

This mission in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia commenced in March 1995 with UN troops patrolling the northern and western borders of the country in an effort to stabilize the region from the threat of expansion of the ongoing wars in the other former Yugoslav States. In conjunction with this role of the military, civilian personnel worked to rebuild the regional infrastructure. This medal was awarded for 90 days of service on this mission. The mandate of this mission was terminated in February 1999.

When the United Nations Protective Force in Former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR) mission ended in 1995, the demilitarization of the vital Prevlaka Peninsula was not complete. For a short time this administrative responsibility was passed to the short-lived United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia (UNCRO) mission, but when the UNCRO's mandate expired, UNMOP was created.

Even though this is the smallest UN observer force ever deployed for which an individual medal was authorized, their mission was an important contribution to the normalization and stability of the region. Under their guidance, land mines were cleared, heavy weapons removed, Croatian troops withdrawn, travel restrictions across borders eased and overall tensions reduced.

This medal was established in 1994 by the UN Secretary-General for award to military and civilian police personnel serving with the United Nations in capacities other than established peace-keeping missions or permanently assigned to United Nations Headquarters. It may be awarded after 90 days of consecutive service or within 90 days if killed in the line of duty.

MINUGUA-Mision de las Naciones Unidas en Guatemala.

In September 1994, acting on a recommendation by the Secretary-General, the General Assembly deployed MINUGUA to establish a human rights verification mission in Guatemala with the intent of ending a persisting pattern of human rights abuse. This mission was terminated in May 1997 and this medal was awarded for 90 days of service during this period.

This United Nations mission was created in January 1998 to supervise the Croatian police in the Danube region with particular attention to the return of displaced persons. This force is composed of a support group of 180 civilian police monitors with the award of this medal based upon 90 days of service in Croatia. This mission was completed in October 1998.

UNTAET - United Nations Transitional Administration In East Timor.

In the mid 1970's when Portugal withdrew its administration of East Timor, Indonesia moved in and declared East Timor as its 27th province. The United Nations refused to recognize this integration and called for Indonesia to withdraw.

After an agreement was signed in New York by Portugal and Indonesia regarding the disposition of East Timor, UNAMET was established in June 1999 to register voters and conduct general elections to accept or reject a special autonomy within the Republic of Indonesia.

Under UN pressure, Indonesia was forced to accept a multinational force headed by Australia to restore peace and security to the area and to support and protect UNAMET. The mandate for UNAMET ended in October 1999 with the establishment of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) which was now fully responsible for the administration of East Timor during its transition to independence.

The tasks of UNTAET included the following elements: to establish an effective administration, to provide security and maintain law and order throughout the territory, to assist in the development of civil and social services, to coordinate and ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance and support development for self-government. UNTAET continues to this day.

This medal is awarded for ninety days of service during either mission.

.

Email