History of The DPKO
The DPKO traces its roots to 1948 with the creation of the UNMOGIP and UNTSO. Up to the late 1980s, peacekeeping missions were operated by six officials in the United Nations Office of Special Political Affairs, which was headed first by Brian Urquhart and then Marrack Goulding. From the beginning, peacekeeping operations operated with a clear doctrine that applied to its traditional or classical peacekeeping operations for inter-state ceasefires: peacekeepers did not take sides or discharge firearms, save in self-defense, or meddle in politics.
The official DPKO was created in 1992 when Boutros Boutros-Ghali took office as Secretary-General of the United Nations; its creation was one of his first decisions. Goulding became under-secretary-general (or USG) for peacekeeping with Kofi Annan appointed as his deputy. The role of the DPKO, however, wasn't clarified until June 1992, when Boutrous-Ghali issued a plan to strengthen the UN's capacity for preventative diplomacy and peacekeeping, entitled An Agenda for Peace.
Read more about this topic: Department Of Peacekeeping Operations
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