Suez Canal
In 1956, the military and political confrontation in Egypt, known as the Suez Canal Crisis, threatened United States and Great Britain ties, The Suez Canal was built by Egyptian workers under a French-British company. It opened in 1869, and it links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The company was taken over by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser on July 26, 1956, which threatened Western governments considering the canal was a vital route for oil transportation to Britain and was relied on heavily by the British economy. Diplomacy failed to produce a solution, so without informing NATO allies, including the United States and Canada- Britain, France and Israel planned an attack on the canal. By late October, Israeli forces advances 42 km into the canal. Then, Britain and France ordered both Israel and Egypt to leave the Canal Zone, but Egypt did not respond, leading to bombings of the canal. Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson then developed the idea for the United Nation's first large-scale, armed, peacekeeping operation. 57 countries voted in favour of the operation. On November 6th, when cease fire began, peacekeepers entered the Suez Canal area. This solution allowed Britain, France and Israel to withdraw with dignity, not defeat.
- creation of UNEF: United Nations Emergency Force
- represented a significant innovation in the UN
- peacekeeping carried out with the consent of both parties
- armed but not forceful (only used for self defence)
- main function was to supervise the withdrawal of the occupying countries
- this mission started large peackeeping operations