1.
United Nations Security Council
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The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946. Like the UN as a whole, the Security Council was created following World War II to address the failings of an international organization. The Security Council consists of fifteen members, the great powers that were the victors of World War II—the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, Republic of China, and the United States—serve as the bodys five permanent members. These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General, the Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The bodys presidency rotates monthly among its members, Security Council resolutions are typically enforced by UN peacekeepers, military forces voluntarily provided by member states and funded independently of the main UN budget. As of 2016,103,510 peacekeeping soldiers and 16,471 civilians are deployed on 16 peacekeeping operations and 1 special political mission. Following the catastrophic loss of life in World War I, the Paris Peace Conference established the League of Nations to maintain harmony between the nations, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. The term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. The most contentious issue at Dumbarton and in successive talks proved to be the rights of permanent members. At the conference, H. V. Evatt of the Australian delegation pushed to further restrict the power of Security Council permanent members. Due to the fear that rejecting the strong veto would cause the conferences failure, the UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. On 17 January 1946, the Security Council met for the first time at Church House, Westminster, in London, United Kingdom. The Security Council was largely paralysed in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and USSR and their allies, and the Council generally was only able to intervene in unrelated conflicts. Cold War divisions also paralysed the Security Councils Military Staff Committee, the committee continued to exist on paper but largely abandoned its work in the mid-1950s. By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its budget for peacekeeping. After the Cold War, the UN saw an expansion in its peacekeeping duties. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, undersecretary-General Brian Urquhart later described the hopes raised by these successes as a false renaissance for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed. In 1994, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan Genocide in the face of Security Council indecision, in the late 1990s, UN-authorised international interventions took a wider variety of forms
2.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
3.
Demilitarized zone
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A demilitarized zone, DMZ or DZ is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or personnel. A DMZ often lies along an established frontier or boundary between two or more powers or alliances. A DMZ may sometimes form a de facto border, such as the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. Other examples of demilitarized zones are a 120-mile area between Iraq and Kuwait, Antarctica and outer space, many demilitarized zones are considered neutral territory because neither side is allowed to control it, even for non-combat administration. Some zones remain demilitarized after an agreement has awarded control to a state which had ceded its right to maintain military forces in the disputed territory. Several demilitarized zones have also unintentionally become wildlife preserves because their land is unsafe for construction or less exposed to human disturbances, examples include the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, and the Green Line in Cyprus. Aegean Islands – The Greek islands of Chios, Icaria, Mytilene, the Treaty forbids all naval fortifications and bases and stipulates that military forces on the islands be limited to the normal contingent called up for military service. The Treaty does however provide for the use of personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purpose. Ceuta border fence and Melilla border fence – A de facto demilitarized zone exists between the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla and Morocco, perimeter fences around both cities have been constructed by Spanish and Moroccan authorities, creating a demilitarized zone between the Spanish and Moroccan fences. Ground Safety Zone – A5 km -wide demilitarized area between Serbia and Kosovo was created under the Kumanovo Agreement following the Kosovo War, Korean Demilitarized Zone – The Korean Armistice Agreement created a 4 km -wide demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea following the Korean War. It is currently the most heavily guarded area in the world, kuwait–Iraq barrier – The United Nations Security Council approved the creation of a demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait in Resolution 689. Although the demilitarized zone is no longer mandated by the Council, preah Vihear Temple – The International Court of Justice had ordered the creation of a provisional demilitarized zone around the Temple whose ownership is claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand. Sinai Peninsula – The Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty sets a limit to the amount of forces Egypt can place in the Sinai Peninsula, parts of the peninsula are demilitarized to various degrees, especially within 20–40 kilometres of Israel. Israel also agreed to limit its forces within 3 kilometres of the Egyptian border, the areas are monitored by the Multinational Force and Observers. Because of the Sinai insurgency all sides agreed and encouraged Egypt to send large amounts of forces into the area, including tanks and helicopters. Svalbard – The Svalbard Treaty of 1920, which recognized Norwegian sovereignty over the territory, Sudan – A10 km demilitarized zone along the Sudan – South Sudan border. It was authorized by Resolution 186 and is patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, the zone is monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. A neutral territory was established between the British territory of Gibraltar and Spain after the end of the 1727 siege
4.
United Nations
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General
5.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 425
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It was adopted by 12 votes to none, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union abstained, and China did not participate. U. N. Security Council Resolution 425 was issued five days after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon on March 14,1978, in what was referred to as Operation Litani. The stated objective of the Operation Litani was to out the PLO bases located inside Lebanon, south of the Litani River. These efforts culminated in Resolution 425, during the 2074th meeting of the United Nations Security Council on March 19,1978, the first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon on March 23,1978, just four days after the resolution was passed. Israel withdrew its forces by June, later, Israel expanded its occupation in a larger-scale invasion in June 1982, in which Israeli troops occupied the capital city of Beirut -- See 1982 Lebanon War. Other major attacks within Lebanon took place in July 1993 and April 1996—See Operation Accountability, in May 2000, more than 22 years after resolution 425 was passed, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon. Prior to the withdrawal, opposition voices inside Israel pressured the government to withdraw from Lebanon, as they saw no reason to stay there. The UN Secretary-General concluded that, as of June 16,2000, Israel had indeed withdrawn its forces from Lebanon, the border recognized by the UN is known as the Blue Line. Lebanon, however, claims that Israel is still keeping Lebanese land under its occupation, Israel says, and the UN agrees, that Shebaa Farms is Syrian and not Lebanese, and therefore it is not included under resolution 425. Lebanon has not extended control over south Lebanon, though it was called on to do so by UN Resolution 1391 of 2002, Israel has lodged multiple complaints regarding Lebanons conduct. Immediately after the withdrawal, Israeli aircraft crossed the Blue Line on an almost daily basis, since mid-December 2005, the number of Israeli air violations has decreased. Israeli warships also continued to violate the Lebanese territorial waters, on October 22,2005 a Lebanese fisherman was reported missing. His boat ran aground in Israel, and was returned by the Israeli army, there were a number of bullet marks on the boat. The IDF explained that they had opened fire as a precaution in case the boat was booby-trapped, many other incidents were reported along the Blue Line such as gunfire and cross border attacks. Both Lebanon and Israel have lodged multiple complaints regarding the other partys violations, Lebanon also calls on Israel to free the prisoners of war and to hand over the maps of the land mines in the area that was under its occupation. On October 7,2000, three Israeli soldiers – Adi Avitan, Staff Sgt, omar Sawaidwere – were captured by Hezbollah across the Israeli-Lebanese border. The soldiers were killed either during the attack or in its immediate aftermath, in the context of this long history of incursions over the Lebanese/Israeli border by both Hezbollah and IDF forcesbegan, Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at into Israel. Of the seven Israeli soldiers in the two jeeps, two were wounded, three were killed, and two were captured and taken to Lebanon, five more were killed in a failed Israeli rescue attempt
6.
Israel
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Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. The country contains geographically diverse features within its small area. Israels economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, next year, the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and it extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is the worlds longest military occupation in modern times, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed, the population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2017 to be 8,671,100 people. It is the worlds only Jewish-majority state, with 74. 8% being designated as Jewish, the countrys second largest group of citizens are Arabs, at 20. 8%. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins, other minorities include Arameans, Armenians, Assyrians, Black Hebrew Israelites, Circassians, Maronites and Samaritans. Israel also hosts a significant population of foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish, Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2016. The country benefits from a skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia, in the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The name Israel in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. The earliest known artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. The area is known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam
7.
Lebanon
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Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy. In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Umyayad, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943
8.
1978 South Lebanon conflict
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The 1978 South Lebanon conflict was an invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani River, carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in 1978 in response to the Coastal Road massacre. It led to the creation of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force and an almost complete Israeli withdrawal, though it took the form of an Israeli military incursion into Southern Lebanon, Operation Litani was grounded in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was exacerbated by an influx of 3,000 PLO militants fleeing a defeat in the Jordanian civil war, Israel responded with damaging attacks against PLO bases. During Israeli raids from 1968 to 1977, some of the Palestinian towns, according to estimations, by October 1977 about 300,000 refugees, mainly Shiite Muslims, fled South Lebanon. The PLO-Israeli conflict increased tensions between Maronite Christians and Druze on the one hand and Muslims on the other, adding to the factors behind the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. On March 11,1978,11 Fatah members led by the 18-year-old female Dalal Mughrabi travelled from Lebanon and they then hijacked a bus on the coastal road near Haifa, and en route to Tel Aviv commandeered a second bus. After a lengthy chase and shootout,38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were killed and 76 wounded and this massacre was the proximate cause of the Israeli invasion three days later. On March 14,1978, Israel launched Operation Litani, after the attack on a civilian bus causing 35 dead civilians, men, women and children. The ground forces were led by two commanders, and attacked simultaneously along the entire front. Paratroopers landed from helicopters to capture all the bridges on the Litani River, cutting off the possibility of retreat by the PLO, the IDF did not succeed in engaging large numbers of PLO forces, who retreated to the north. Many Lebanese civilians were killed by heavy Israeli shelling and air strikes, according to Augustus Richard Norton, professor of international relations at Boston University, the IDF military operation killed approximately 1,100 people, most of them Palestinian and Lebanese. According to IDF reporting and internal investigation, at least 550 of the casualties were Palestinian militants initially holding the front line, according to other sources about 2000 Lebanese and Palestinian were killed. Estimates for the number of people displaced by the military operations range from at least 100,000 to 250,000, Syrian troops deployed inside Lebanon, some of which were within visual range of the IDF, but did not take part in the fighting. The PLO retreated north of the Litani River, continuing to fire at the Israelis, the IDF used cluster bombs provided by the United States. Israel also transferred American weapons to Saad Haddads Lebanese militia, a violation of American law, carters administration prepared to notify Congress that American weapons were being used illegally, which would have resulted in military aid to Israel being cut off. The American consul in Jerusalem informed the Israeli government of their plans and, according to Carter, in response to the invasion, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon were both adopted on March 19,1978. UNIFIL forces arrived in Lebanon on March 23,1978, setting up headquarters in Naqoura, Resolution 425 didnt result in an immediate end to hostilities. The Israelis continued military operations for 2 more days until they ordered a ceasefire, the PLOs initial reaction was that the resolution didnt apply to them because it didnt mention the PLO
9.
Politics of Lebanon
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The constitution grants the people the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the elections in 1992. According to the constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every 4 years, the last parliamentary election was in 2009. The Parliament, in turn, elects a President every 6 years to a single term, the President is not eligible for re-election. The last presidential election was in 2016, the president and parliament choose the Prime Minister. Political parties may be formed, most are based on sectarian interests, the 1943 National Pact, an unwritten agreement that established the political foundations of modern Lebanon, allocated political power on an essentially confessional system based on the 1932 census. Seats in parliament were divided on a 6-to-5 ratio of Christians to Muslims, positions in the government bureaucracy are allocated on a similar basis. The pact also by custom allocated public offices along religious lines, the Speaker of the Parliament, a Shia Muslim. The Prime Minister, a Sunni Muslim, efforts to alter or abolish the confessional system of allocating power have been at the centre of Lebanese politics for decades. Nonetheless, many of the provisions of the pact were codified in the 1989 Taif Agreement. Although moderated somewhat under Taif, the Constitution gives the President a strong, the President has the authority to promulgate laws passed by the Parliament, to issue supplementary regulations to ensure the execution of laws, and to negotiate and ratify treaties. The Parliament is elected by adult suffrage based on a system of majority or winner-take-all for the confessional groups. There has been a recent effort to switch to proportional representation which many argue will provide an accurate assessment of the size of political groups. Most deputies do not represent political parties as they are known in the West, political blocs are usually based on confessional and local interests or on personal/family allegiance rather than on political affinities. The parliament traditionally has played a significant role in affairs, since it has the responsibility for levying taxes. It also exercises political control over the cabinet through formal questioning of ministers on policy issues, Lebanons judicial system is based on the Napoleonic Code. Juries are not used in trials, the Lebanese court system has three levels—courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and the court of cassation. There also is a system of religious courts having jurisdiction over personal status matters within their own communities, e. g. rules on such matters as marriage, divorce, Lebanese political institutions often play a secondary role to highly confessionalized personality-based politics
10.
1982 Lebanon War
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The military operation was launched after gunmen from Abu Nidals organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israels ambassador to the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed Abu Nidals enemy, the PLO, for the incident, the PLO, under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat, had relocated its headquarters to Tripoli in June 1982. Following the assassination of Gemayel in September 1982, Israels position in Beirut became untenable and the signing of a peace treaty became increasingly unlikely. After Israeli forces withdrew from most of Lebanon, the War of the Camps broke out between Lebanese factions, the remains of the PLO and Syria, in which Syria fought its former Palestinian allies. At the same time, Shia militant groups began consolidating and waging a low-intensity guerrilla war over the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Civil War would continue until 1990, at which point Syria had established complete dominance over Lebanon. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Lebanon became home to more than 110,000 Palestinian refugees, after their settlements in Palestine and Israel had been depopulated as a result of the war. After its founding in 1964 and the radicalization among Palestinians, which followed the Six Day War, continual violence near the Lebanese border occurred between Israel and the PLO starting from 1968, this peaked, following the relocation of PLO bases to Lebanon after the civil war in Jordan. The violence between Israel and the PLO peaked during Operation Litani in 1978, provoked by the Coastal Road Massacre which was carried out by Palestinian militants, as early as 1976, Israel had been assisting Lebanese Christian militias in their sporadic battles against the PLO. But Israels main partner was to be the Maronite Phalange party, whose paramilitary was led by Bashir Gemayel, gemayels strategy during the early stages of the Lebanese Civil War was to provoke the Syrians into retaliatory attacks on Christians, such that Israel could not ignore. In 1978, Menachem Begin declared that Israel would not allow a genocide of Lebanese Christians, hundreds of Lebanese militiamen began to train in Israel, at the IDF Staff and Command College. During the period June to December 1980 the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon recorded an increase in activities along the border zone, during the same period Israel protested numerous attacks by Palestinian forces, unrelated to the Lebanese border zone. In contrast the IDF had launched attacks on Lebanese territory often in support of the Lebanese Christian militia. In doing so Israel had violated UN Security Council resolution 425 on hundreds of occasions, in the subsequent period 16 June to 10 December 1981, a relative quiet was reported continuing from 29 May 1981 until 10 July. This was broken when Israeli aircraft resumed strikes against targets in southern Lebanon north of the UNIFIL area, led to exchanges of heavy firing between armed elements, on the one hand, and IDF and the de facto forces on the other. On 13 and 14 July, widespread Israeli air-strikes continued, armed elements fired into the enclave and northern Israel. Israeli-initiated attacks had led to rocket and artillery fire on northern Israel and this pattern continued in the coming days. Israel renewed its air strikes in an attempt to trigger a war that would allow it to out the PLO. On 17 July, the Israel Air Force launched an attack on PLO buildings in downtown Beirut
11.
2006 Lebanon War
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The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israel Defense Forces. The conflict was precipitated by the Zarit-Shtula incident, on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence. The ambush left three soldiers dead, two Israeli soldiers were abducted and taken by Hezbollah to Lebanon. Five more were killed in Lebanon, in a rescue attempt. Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of the abducted soldiers, Israel refused and responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon. Israel attacked both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beiruts Rafic Hariri International Airport, the IDF launched a ground invasion of Southern Lebanon. Israel also imposed an air and naval blockade, Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the IDF in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions. The conflict is believed to have killed between 1,191 and 1,300 Lebanese people, and 165 Israelis and it severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure, and displaced approximately one million Lebanese and 300, 000–500,000 Israelis. On 11 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 in an effort to end the hostilities, the Lebanese Army began deploying in Southern Lebanon on 17 August 2006. The blockade was lifted on 8 September 2006, on 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, although the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar. In the time since the enactment of UNSCR1701 both the Lebanese government and UNIFIL have stated that they will not disarm Hezbollah, the remains of the two captured soldiers, whose fates were unknown, were returned to Israel on 16 July 2008 as part of a prisoner exchange. Concurrently, Syria began a 29-year military occupation in 1976, Israels 1978 invasion of Lebanon failed to stem the Palestinian attacks in the long run, but Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and forcibly expelled the PLO. Israel withdrew to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, held with the aid of proxy militants in the South Lebanon Army. When the Lebanese Civil War ended and other warring factions agreed to disarm, ten years later, Israel withdrew from South Lebanon to the UN-designated and internationally recognized Blue Line border in 2000. The withdrawal also led to the collapse of the SLA. In these attacks, including the attack that precipitated the Israeli response that developed into the war,31 Israelis were killed and 104 were wounded. In August 2006, in an article in The New Yorker, the US government denied these claims. In June 2005, an Israel Defense Forces paratroop unit operating near the Shebaa Farms engaged three Lebanese it identified as Hezbollah special force members, killing one, videotapes recovered by the paratroopers contained footage of the three recording detailed accounts of the area
12.
Lebanese Armed Forces
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The Lebanese Armed Forces or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the Lebanese Army according to its official website, is the military of the Lebanese Republic. It consists of three branches, the army, the air force and the navy, the motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is Honor, Sacrifice, Loyalty. The armed forces consist of 87,000 active personnel with the ground consisting of approximately 80,000 troops. The remaining personnel are commanders, advisors, engineers and members of the special forces, the country has six military colleges and schools. Lebanese officers are sent to countries such as the US. The equipment of the LAF is outdated due to lack of funds, political bickering and until the 2000s, the Lebanese government is working with its partners to improve the armed forces capabilities. After the conclusion of the Lebanese Civil War, the LAF decided to repair as much of its equipment as it could, about 85% of the LAFs equipment is American-made, with the remaining being British, French, and Soviet-made. The Lebanese Army finds its original roots in the armed forces that were first formed under Prince Fakher el-Din II the Great in the early 17th-century during the Principality of Lebanon. The first major victory came on October 31,1622 against the Ottoman Empire Army under the lead of the Pasha of Damascus in the Battle of Majdel Anjar. Outnumbered, Fakher el-Din was nevertheless victorious and was able to capture the Pasha of Damascus himself and takeover Syria, Galilee, during the period of the semi-autonomous province period of Mount Lebanon between 1861 and 1914, no Turkish troops were allowed to station within its boundary. The beginnings of the modern Lebanese Army arose during 1916, when the French government established the Legion of the Orient, which included Lebanese soldiers. After a post World War I League of Nations mandate was established over Lebanon in April 1920, France formed the Army of the Levant, which was later reorganized into the Troupes Spéciales du Levant. Later in 1926, the Lebanese First Sharp Shooters Unit was created out of the Special Troops of the Levant, during World War II, Lebanese troops fought in Lebanon with the Vichy French forces against Free French and British forces. In 1943, prior to the declaration of Lebanese independence, all the units were combined in one brigade. On the day Lebanon declared independence, the Lebanese Third Sharp Shooters Regiment was placed at the disposal of the Lebanese government in order to maintain security. In June of the year, the French reconstituted units of the Troupes Spéciales du Levant. The majority of the Lebanese Armed Forces remained a part of the French Army in Lebanon, after gaining independence in 1943, the Lebanese government formed an official delegation in 1944 to negotiate with the French the terms related to handing over the LAF. After nearly three weeks of talks, the joint French-British Command decreed that responsibility for armed units under French control were to be handed over to the Independent Government of Lebanon and these units were part of the Troupes Spéciales du Levant and totaled about 3,000 men
13.
Peacekeeping
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Peacekeeping refers to activities intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths and reduces the risk of renewed warfare, such assistance may come in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly, the UN peacekeepers can include soldiers, police officers, the United Nations is not the only organization to implement peacekeeping missions. Non-UN peacekeeping forces include the NATO mission in Kosovo and the Multinational Force, the Nonviolent Peaceforce is one NGO widely considered to have expertise in general peacemaking by non-governmental volunteers or activists. There are a range of types of operations encompassed in peacekeeping. In Page Fortna’s book Does Peacekeeping Work, for instance, she distinguishes four different types of peacekeeping operations, importantly, these types of missions and how they are conducted are heavily influenced by the mandate in which they are authorized. Three of Fortna’s four types are consent-based missions, i. e. Chapter VI missions, Chapter VI missions are consent based, therefore they require the consent of the belligerent factions involved in order to operate. Should they lose that consent, Peacekeepers would be compelled to withdraw, Chapter VII missions, by contrast, do not require consent, though they may have it. If consent is lost at any point, Chapter VII missions would not be required to withdraw, observation Missions which consist of small contingents of military or civilian observers tasked with monitoring cease-fires, troop withdrawals, or other conditions outlined in a ceasefire agreement. They are typically unarmed and are tasked with observing and reporting on what is taking place. Thus, they do not possess the capability or mandate to intervene should either side renege on the agreement, examples of observation missions include UNAVEM II in Angola in 1991 and MINURSO in the Western Sahara. Thus, they serve as a zone between the two sides and can monitor and report on the compliance of either side with regard to parameters established in a given ceasefire agreement. Examples include UNAVEM III in Angola in 1994, and MINUGUA in Guatemala in 1996, multidimensional missions are carried out by military and police personnel in which they attempt to implement robust and comprehensive settlements. Examples include UNTAG in Namibia, ONUSAL in El Salvador, Peace enforcement Missions are Chapter VII missions and unlike the previous Chapter VI missions, they do not require the consent of the belligerent parties. These are multidimensional operations comprising both civilian and military personnel, the military force is substantial in size and fairly well-equipped by UN Peacekeeping standards. They are mandated to use force for purposes beyond just self-defense, examples include ECOMOG and UNAMSIL in West Africa and Sierra Leone in 1999, as well as the NATO operations in Bosnia—IFOR and SFOR. During the Cold War, peacekeeping was primarily interpositional in nature—thus being referred to as traditional peacekeeping, Missions were consent-based, and more often than not observers were unarmed—such was the case with UNTSO in the Middle East and UNCIP in India and Pakistan. Others were armed—such as UNEF-I, established during the Suez Crisis and they were largely successful in this role
14.
United Nations Emergency Force
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The first United Nations Emergency Force was established by United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the Suez Crisis with resolution 1001 on November 7,1956. The General Assembly had approved a plan submitted by the Secretary-General which envisaged the deployment of UNEF on both sides of the armistice line, the Second United Nations Emergency Force deployed from October 1973 to July 1979. UNEF was the first UN military force of its kind, its mission was to, to cover an area extending roughly from the Suez Canal to the Armistice Demarcation Lines established in the Armistice Agreement between Egypt and Israel. UNEF was formed under the authority of the General Assembly and was subject to the sovereignty clause, Article 2, Paragraph 7. An agreement between the Egyptian government and the Secretary-General, The Good Faith Accords, or Good Faith Aide-Memoire, placed the UNEF force in Egypt with the consent of the Egyptian government. Since the operative UN resolutions were not passed under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, support was also provided by United States, Italy, and Switzerland. The first forces arrived in Cairo on November 15, and UNEF was at its full force of 6,000 by February 1957. The force was deployed in designated areas around the canal, in the Sinai. The UN Secretary-General sought to station UNEF forces on the Israeli side of the 1949 armistice lines, in March 1957, the force facilitated the departure of Israeli forces from Gaza and Sharm-el-Sheik. Deployment along the borders for purposes of observation and this phase ended in May 1967. Due to financial constraints and changing needs, the force shrank through the years to 3,378 by the time its mission ended in May 1967, on May 16,1967, the Egyptian government ordered all United Nations forces out of Sinai effective immediately. Then Secretary-General U Thant tried to redeploy UNEF to areas within the Israeli side of the 1949 armistice lines to maintain buffer, in a decision that proved to be controversial, Thant acted to effect the Egyptian order without consulting either the Security Council or the General Assembly. Most of the forces were evacuated by the end of May, the last United Nations soldier left the region on June 17. UNEF II was also to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross in its endeavours in the area. The mandate of UNEF II which was approved for six months. In each case, the Council took note of the Secretary-Generals report, in October 1978, the mandate of UNEF II was extended a last time for nine months, until 24 July 1979. The area of operation of the UNEF II was at Suez Canal sector and later the Sinai peninsula, with the located at Cairo. Contributors of military personnel were, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, India, Nepal, Panama, Peru, Poland, Senegal and Sweden
15.
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
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The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. The command structure of the UNTSO was maintained to cover the later peace keeper organisations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, all the members of the party were experienced international civil servants with a background of service with the United Nations Secretariat at Headquarters. While on duty in Palestine, they were to continue to wear United Nations guard uniforms, the plan was not accepted by the Palestinian Arabs and Arab States and only partially accepted by the Jewish Agency of Palestine. On 14 May 1948, the United Kingdom relinquished its mandate over Palestine, on the following day, the Arab States invaded Palestine Mandate territory. On 14 May 1948, the Assembly adopts resolution 186, which affirms its support for the efforts of the Security Council to secure a truce in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden was appointed. On 22 May 1948, the Security Council adopts resolution 49, the resolution also calls upon the parties to facilitate the task of the U. N. Mediator. Wasson, US Consul and member of the UN Truce Commission was assassinated in Jerusalem, to enforce the first of two truces, lasting four weeks, the UN then established an observer formation, with members drawn from Belgium, France, and the United States. He was wounded while investigating an alleged violation of the provisions by Jewish forces. The Mediator was instructed on 29 May 1948 to create a truce in Palestine. The Mediator concept was teamed with the Truce Commission for supervisory over-watch of the Truce Plan, as a result, the Mediator and the Truce Commission would be provided with a number of military observers which set a precedent for todays assignment of UNMOs in the Middle East. The month-long truce went into effect on 11 June,1948, on the same day, the first group of 36 observers arrived via Cairo, Egypt and continued to arrive for the next three days. The first truce did not last long due to violence which again erupted. As a result, the observers were withdrawn on 9 July 1948, the second truce, indefinite in length, was called by the United Nations Security Council on 15 July 1948. This declaration was to be put into effect on 18 July 1948, during the autumn of 1948, UNTSO was re-established with an increase in size to supervise the Second Truce. The first group of observers to serve in Palestine under the UN Mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte and it included 41 Americans and about 25 Belgians and were deployed on 21 July 1948. The initial group was expanded to 93 in total because of the tremendous area that had to be covered. Initially, the command was headed by a Chief-of-Staff in accordance with the direction of the Mediator. On 17 September 1948, UN Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte, in the Katamon quarter of Jerusalem by Jewish assailants
16.
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force
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The Force has since performed its functions with the full cooperation of both sides. The mandate of UNDOF has been renewed every six months since 1974, UNTSO and UNDOF are operating in the zone and continue to supervise the ceasefire. Before the Syrian Civil War, the situation in the Israel-Syria ceasefire line had remained quiet and there had been no serious incidents. According to a UN official, they were taken hostage near Observation Post 58, the UN personnel was later released with Jordanian mediation. On 6 October 1973, in a joint attack, Egypt attacked Israeli forces on the Suez Canal. The Israelis stopped the attacks and retook most of the lost ground, Israeli forces then pushed deeper into Syria and Egypt. Fighting continued until 22 October 1973, when United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 called for a ceasefire, two days later, Israel and Egypt violated the ceasefire and resumed fighting, resulting in United Nations Security Council Resolution 339, which ended the war. The conflict is now known as the Yom Kippur War, the United Nations Emergency Force II moved into place between Israeli and Egyptian armies in the Suez Canal area, stabilizing the situation. Resolution 339 primarily reaffirmed the terms outlined in Resolution 338, tension remained high on the Israel-Syria front, and during March 1974 the situation became increasingly unstable. The United States undertook an initiative, which resulted in the signing of the Agreement on Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces. The Agreement provided for a zone and for two equal areas of limitation of forces and armaments on both sides of the area. It also called for the establishment of a United Nations observer force to supervise its implementation, the Agreement was signed on 31 May 1974 and, on the same day, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 350 to set up the UNDOF. On 3 June 1974 General Briceno from Peru arrived, from Cairo, at the headquarters of the UNTSO ISMAC House, in Damascus, the first phase of the operation was manning the observation posts. From 6 June 1974 to 25 June 1974, the phase which included the physical disengagement of Syrian. The Austrians and Polish shared a base camp at Kanikir near the town of Sassa, the Peruvians were deployed south of Quneitra near Ziouani. The Canadian logistics company and signal element were situated in Ziouani near Quneitra, the force headquarters remained in Damascus. The buffer zone is about 80 km long, and between 0.5 and 10 km wide, forming an area of 235 km². The zone straddles the Purple Line, separating the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights and the rest of Syria, where the west line is known as Alpha, and the east line as Bravo
17.
United Nations General Assembly
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The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. The General Assembly is the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. It has also established a number of subsidiary organs. It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions and its composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter. The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London, other questions are decided by a straightforward majority. Each member country has one vote, apart from approval of budgetary matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace, the one state, one vote power structure potentially allows states comprising just five percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a two-thirds vote. During the 1980s, the Assembly became a forum for the North-South dialogue and these issues came to the fore because of the phenomenal growth and changing makeup of the UN membership. In 1945, the UN had 51 members and it now has 193, of which more than two-thirds are developing countries. Because of their numbers, developing countries are able to determine the agenda of the Assembly, the character of its debates. For many developing countries, the UN is the source of much of their diplomatic influence, the Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. The first session of the UN General Assembly was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London, the next few annual sessions were held in different cities, the second session in New York, and the third session was in Paris. It moved to the permanent United Nations Headquarters in New York at the start of its seventh regular annual session, on 14 October 1952. In December 1988, in order to hear Yasser Arafat, the General Assembly organised its 29th session in the Palace of Nations, all 193 members states of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly. The agenda for each session is planned up to seven months in advance and this is refined into a provisional agenda 60 days before the opening of the session. Items on the agenda are numbered, the General Assembly votes on many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These are generally statements symbolizing the sense of the community about an array of world issues. Most General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable as a legal or practical matter, the General Assembly has authority to make final decisions in some areas such as the United Nations budget
18.
Patria Pasi variants
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Patria Pasis have been produced in various models and also for various purposes. Originally Panssari-Sisu, was not produced by Patria, but Sisu lorry manufacturer, technically the variants of Pasi are marked with two letters XA, which means cross-country armoured vehicle, the first and second number means the power in tens of kilowats. Therefore, Pasi XA-180 means, that it is an armoured vehicle having an engine capable for 180 kW. The last number,0, means that XA-180 is the first version of the 180 kW Pasis, the name of the manufacturer has changed several times. Up until 1980 the producer was known as Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab, in 1981 it changed its name to Oy Sisu Auto Ab, which reflected the name of the Sisu branded lorries Suomen Autoteollisuus had manufactured. In 1994 Oy Sisu-Auto Ab purchased Valmet Oys forest tractor and harvester business, Oy Sisu Ab was founded to function as the holding company of all the new entities and the old Oy Sisu-Auto Ab. For the lorry production, a new Oy Sisu-Auto Ab, now Oy Sisu Auto Ab, was founded, in 1996 Sisu Defence was sold to Suomen Puolustusväline Oy, which is a state owned company. In 1997 Sisu Defence Oy merged with Suomen Puolustusväline to become Patria Vehicles Oy, the upgrade includes improved mine protection and refurbishing or replacing electrical systems and powertrain components. A prototype vehicle was completed 2014 and Patria has been given a contract to upgrade 70 vehicles manufactured in 1980s between 2015 and 2017, there is an additional option to upgrade further 210 vehicles by 2021. The prototype of XA-180 was produced by Sisu Auto in 1980 for the tests, another type, which was ordered for tests was made by a tractor manufacturer Valmet. In 1983 Sisu XA-180 was chosen as the personnel carrier for the defence forces of Finland. On 22 December 1983 first 41 Sisus were ordered for the forces itself. The defence forces of Finland has 425 XA-180 and XA-185 types Pasis, the main superstructure was manufactured from 6 mm to 12 mm armour steel. The bottom parts of the vehicle were mine strengthened, the windows are bullet-resistant and equipped with protective hatches. As for the off-road qualities XA-180 can take inclines up to maximum of 60°, xA-186 is not amphibious like XA-202, XA-203 and XA-360 are not either. XA-180EST is the Estonian model of XA-180, there are 58 of them in service. Finland had sold 61 of them, of four were medevac models. In 2005 there were delivered ordinary ones 30 units and four medievac units, in 200535 units of XA-180ESTs,200621 units and 20075 units were transferred to Estonia
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Fiji
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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealands North Island. Fiji is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as Fijis principal cruise port, about three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levus coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi or Lautoka. Viti Levus interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain, Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry. The countrys currency is the Fijian dollar, Fijis local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development. The majority of Fijis islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago, today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm, a republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups détat. In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power, later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, an election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimaramas FijiFirst party won with 59. 2% of the vote, Fijis main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name Fiji is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows, Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known. Feejee, the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji. Pottery art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC, the first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about 5000 years ago
20.
Lebanese Civil War
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The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon, lasting from 1975 to 1990 and resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. As of 2012, approximately 76,000 people remain displaced within Lebanon, there was also an exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon as a result of the war. The government of Lebanon had been run under a significant influence of the elites among the Maronite Christians, however, the country had a large Muslim population and many pan-Arabist and left-wing groups opposed the pro-western government. Fighting between Maronite and Palestinian forces began in 1975, then Leftist, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians, during the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war, Peace keeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon & UNIFIL, were also stationed in Lebanon. The 1989 Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end of the fighting, in January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, parliament passed an amnesty law that all political crimes prior to its enactment. In May 1991, the militias were dissolved, with the exception of Hezbollah, religious tensions between Sunnis and Shias remained after the war. An 1860 civil war between Druze and Maronites erupted in the Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon, which had been divided between them in 1842 and it resulted in the massacre of about 10,000 Christians and at least 6,000 Druzes. The 1860 war was considered by the Druze as a military victory, World War I was hard for the Lebanese. While the rest of the world was occupied with the World War, with the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish rule ended. France took control of the area under the French Mandate for Syria, the French created the state of Greater Lebanon as a safe haven for the Maronites, but included a large Muslim population within the borders. In 1926, Lebanon was declared a republic, and a constitution was adopted, however, the constitution was suspended in 1932. Various factions sought unity with Syria, or independence from the French, in 1934, the countrys first census was conducted. In 1936, the Maronite Phalange party was founded by Pierre Gemayel, World War II and the 1940s brought great change to Lebanon and the Middle East. Lebanon was promised independence and on 22 November 1943, during World War II, Free French troops, who had invaded Lebanon in 1941 to rid Beirut of the Vichy French forces, left the country in 1946. The Maronites assumed power over the country and economy, a parliament was created, in which both Muslims and Christians each had a set quota of seats. Accordingly, the President was to be a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in late 1947 led to civil war in Palestine, the end of Mandatory Palestine, and the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948
21.
Multinational Force in Lebanon
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The ceasefire held until June 3,1982 when the PLO attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israels ambassador to London. Three days later, Israel reentered the PLO-controlled West Beirut and blockaded the city in order to contain insurgency, seven weeks into the blockade, the besieged PLO acceded to a new agreement for their withdrawal. The four-nation MNF was created as an interposition force meant to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The participants included the U. S. Additionally, the MNF was in charge of training units of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The relatively benign environment at the beginning of the gave way to chaos as the civil war re-escalated following the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel in September 1982. Subsequent political and military developments on the ground caused the MNF to be viewed not as a peacekeeper and it was replaced by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon already present in Lebanon since 1978 under the leadership of Ghanaian Lieutenant General Emmanuel Erskine. Under its mandate, the MNF provides a multinational presence requested by the Lebanese Government to assist it, the MNF is not authorized to engage in combat but may exercise the right of self-defense. The USMNF follows a policy of active self-defense in response to attacks, in order to enhance the safety of MNF personnel, authority has been given to U. S. S. The MNF is currently composed of the units, which perform the functions indicated at the request of the Lebanese Government. Their precise functions within the MNF mission have varied over time, one U. S. Marine Amphibious Unit is ashore at Beirut International Airport as a 1, 400-man force which also provides external-security troops at U. S. diplomatic facilities in the greater Beirut area. Additional elements of the MAU in reserve, mainly combat support, as noted above, U. S. military personnel currently with the MNF will remain on the ground for the protection of our remaining personnel. Two Italian battalions are in a 1, 400-man force in southwest Beirut and also protect the Sabra. The Italian Government has nearly completed the process of returning the size of its force to that level from a high of 2,200 men. The Italians announced on Feb.8 their intention to withdraw further forces, the French battalions serve as a force in and near the port of Beirut. In addition, each contingent of the MNF has naval and/or air support forces in the region, the United States had previously been involved in Lebanon during the 1958 crisis. In May 1958 armed rebellion broke out in Beirut, supported mostly by Muslim elements, Marines and paratroopers were sent to Lebanon by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to keep the country from falling to Communism. President Chamoun left office in September after having completed his term, further instability ensued when Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982, the invasion targeted the Palestine Liberation Organization bases in Beirut. In August 1982, he was successful in bringing about an agreement for the evacuation of Syrian troops, the agreement also provided for the deployment of a three-nation Multinational Force during the period of the evacuation
22.
South Lebanon Army
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The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army was a Lebanese Christian militia during the Lebanese Civil War and its aftermath, until disbanded in the year 2000. It was originally named the Free Lebanon Army, which split from the Army of Free Lebanon, after 1979, the militia operated in southern Lebanon under the authority of Saad Haddads Government of Free Lebanon. It was supported by Israel, and became its primary ally in Lebanon during the 1985–2000 South Lebanon conflict to fight against Hezbollah, in 1976, as a result of the ongoing civil war, the Lebanese army began to break up. Major Saad Haddad, commanding a battalion in the south which had been part of the Army of Free Lebanon, broke away. The FLA was initially based in the towns of Marjayoun and Qlayaa in southern Lebanon, the FLA fought against various groups including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Amal Movement and the emerging Hezbollah. While the group was no longer under the control of the Lebanese army. The 1978 Israeli invasion allowed the Free Lebanon Army to gain control over a wider area in southern Lebanon. On April 18,1979 Haddad proclaimed the area controlled by his force Independent Free Lebanon, the following day, he was branded a traitor by the Lebanese government and officially dismissed from the Lebanese Army. Part of the Free Lebanon Army returned to government control, while Haddads part split away and was renamed the South Lebanon Army in May 1980, following Haddads death from cancer in 1984, he was replaced as leader by retired Lieutenant General Antoine Lahad. The SLA was closely allied with Israel and it supported the Israelis by fighting the PLO in southern Lebanon until the 1982 invasion. After that, SLA support for the Israelis consisted mainly of fighting other Lebanese guerrilla forces led by Hezbollah until 2000 in the security zone, in return Israel supplied the organization with arms, uniforms, and logistical equipment. The SLA hosted the Christian radio station Voice of Hope, beginning in 1982, the SLA played host to Middle East Television. Otis gave Middle East Television to Televangelist Pat Robertson, founder of CBN, on May 2,2000 Middle East Television relocated to Cyprus. In 1985 the SLA opened the Khiam detention center, torture was a common tactic, and occurring on a large scale. Israel denies any involvement, and claims that Khiam was the responsibility of the SLA. The SLA also imposed military conscription, under which males over 18 living in the territory it controlled served one year as military recruits, while the SLA received funding, weapons and logistics from Israel during its existence, the SLA did much fighting independent from Israeli forces. The SLA also handled all civilian operations in Israels zone of control. During the 1990s Hezbollah carried out increasingly effective attacks on the SLA and these changed circumstances led to a progressive loss of morale and members
23.
Saad Haddad
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Saad Haddad was the founder and head of the South Lebanon Army during the Lebanese Civil War. For years Haddad was closely collaborating and receiving arms and political support from Israel against Lebanese government forces, Hezbollah, since the 1970s there has been a cyclical pattern of guerrilla attacks carried out by Palestinian militiamen on Israel and IDF attacks on Palestinian targets. In the aftermath of the 1975 Civil War, Lebanese-generated security concerns grew for Israel, at the same time, the breakdown of Lebanons central government provided opportunities for Israel to act. Around 1975, Israel sponsored the creation of a surrogate force, a defection which led to the formation of the pro-Israel Free Lebanon Army, based in a corridor, the Security Zone along Lebanons southern border from 1982 after Israels invasion of Lebanon. This force, which called itself the Free Lebanon Army, was intended to prevent infiltration into Israel of Palestinian guerrillas, in 1978, Israel invaded Lebanon, clearing out Palestine Liberation Organization strongholds as far north as the Litani River. On 18 April 1979, Haddad proclaimed the area controlled by his force Independent Free Lebanon, the following day, he was branded a traitor to the Lebanese government and officially dismissed from the Lebanese Army. Another consequence of the Israeli invasion was the establishment in southern Lebanon of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Haddads militia collaborated with Israel and received the bulk of its arms, equipment, supplies and ordnance from Israel. There are eyewitness accounts support the claim that Saad Haddads troops were involved in the massacres of Sabra. In the massacre an estimated 763 -3,500 civilians were killed, in 1984, Haddad died of cancer. His successor as the head of the SLA was general Antoine Lahad, with the Israeli retreat the SLA quickly collapsed. On 24 May 2000, the sight of Saad Haddads statue being dragged through the streets of the Lebanese town of Marjayoun was a sign that the South Lebanon Army was gone. During the South Lebanon conflict, Saad Haddad headed the Christian radio station Voice of Hope, initially set up and funded by George Otis of High Adventure Ministries. On 7 June 2012, Lebanese daily newspaper As Safir reported on the progress of Saad Haddads daughter Arza as a researcher in ballistics and she obtained masters degree in aeronautics in June 2012
24.
Israel Defense Forces
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The Israel Defense Forces, commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal, are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the forces, air force, and navy. It is the military wing of the Israeli security forces. The IDF is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Defense Minister of Israel, Lieutenant general Gadi Eizenkot has served as Chief of Staff since 2015. The number of wars and border conflicts in which the IDF has been involved in its history makes it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world. The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armed forces in the world in many ways, differences include the mandatory conscription of women and its structure, which emphasizes close relations between the army, navy, and air force. Since its founding, the IDF has been designed to match Israels unique security situation. The IDF is one of Israeli societys most prominent institutions, influencing the economy, culture. In 1965, the Israel Defense Forces was awarded the Israel Prize for its contribution to education, the Uzi submachine gun was invented in Israel and used by the IDF until December 2003, ending a service that began in 1954. The Israeli cabinet ratified the name Israel Defense Forces, Tzva HaHagana LeYisrael, literally army for the defense of Israel, the other main contender was Tzva Yisrael. The name was chosen because it conveyed the idea that the role was defense, and because it incorporated the name Haganah. Among the primary opponents of the name were Minister Haim-Moshe Shapira, the IDF traces its roots to Jewish paramilitary organizations in the New Yishuv, starting with the Second Aliyah. The first such organization was Bar-Giora, founded in September 1907 and it was converted to Hashomer in April 1909, which operated until the British Mandate of Palestine came into being in 1920. Hashomer was an elitist organization with narrow scope, and was created to protect against criminal gangs seeking to steal property. During World War I, the forerunners of the Haganah/IDF were the Zion Mule Corps, after the Arab riots against Jews in April 1920, the Yishuvs leadership saw the need to create a nationwide underground defense organization, and the Haganah was founded in June of the same year. The Haganah became a defense force after the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine with an organized structure. During World War II the successor to the Jewish Legion of World War I was the Jewish Brigade, the IDF was founded following the establishment of the State of Israel, after Defense Minister and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion issued an order on 26 May 1948. The order called for the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces, although Ben-Gurion had no legal authority to issue such an order, the order was made legal by the cabinet on 31 May
25.
Operation Grapes of Wrath
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Operation Grapes of Wrath is the Israeli Defense Forces code-name for a sixteen-day campaign against Lebanon in 1996 in an attempt to end shelling of Northern Israel by Hezbollah. Israel conducted more than 1,100 air raids and extensive shelling,639 Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks targeted northern Israel, particularly the town of Kiryat Shemona. Hezbollah forces also participated in engagements with Israeli and South Lebanon Army forces. The conflict was de-escalated on 27 April by a ceasefire agreement banning attacks on civilians, the Israeli army invaded Lebanon for the second time in 1982, in order to stop the Palestinian attacks, starting the 1982 Lebanon War. After three months Israel occupied the city of Beirut. Over the next three years the Israeli army partially withdrew, until in 1985 it established what it called the Security Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon, while Israel did succeed in ousting the PLO from Lebanon, armed insurgency by radical Shia organizations emerged in the region. In 1993, Israel responded with an attack against the Lebanese Hezbollah to disrupt its actions. The military campaign ended in a ceasefire banning targeting civilians on both sides, Hezbollah later broke the agreement, and continued attacking targets in both Lebanon and northern Israel, including Israeli armed forces, South Lebanon Army militia and civilian areas. According to HRW the Israeli military shelled targets often in close proximity to or inside civilian areas. On 9 April 1996, a barrage of rockets was shelled by Hezbollah upon Galilee towns, prompting Israel to respond against. On 30 March, two men were killed by an IDF missile while working on a tower in Yater. Hezbollah responded by launching 20 missiles into northern Israel and the IDF acknowledged the attack as a mistake, Israeli officials announced Operation Grapes of Wrath on 11 April as a retaliatory and preventative action for Hezbollah shelling, which had injured six Israeli civilians. In the early morning of 11 April, Israeli aircraft and artillery began a bombardment of southern Lebanon as well as targets in the Beirut area. The declared objective of these attacks was to put pressure on the Government of Lebanon so that it would curb the activities of Hezbollah, the raids were accompanied by radio broadcasts urging residents to flee the area. Somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 did so, beginning 13 April, Israel blockaded the ports of Beirut, Sidon and Tyre. Near Beirut, a Syrian military post was bombed on 12 April by Israeli aircraft, resulting in the death of one soldier, on 14 April and 15, the Beirut area electric power stations at Jumhour and Bsaleem were attacked. The Israeli air force said that fire was directed at its planes from the area around the building. Amnesty International was not able to confirm whether or not those said were true, some 350 civilians were wounded in Lebanon
26.
Southern Lebanon
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Southern Lebanon is the geographical area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost districts of the Beqaa Governorate, the main cities of the region are Sidon, Tyre, Jezzine and Nabatiyeh. The cazas of Bint Jbeil, Tyre, and Nabatieh in Southern Lebanon are known for their large Shia Muslim population with a minority of Christians. Sidon is predominantly Sunni, with the rest of the caza of Sidon having a Shia Muslim majority, with a considerable Christian minority, the cazas of Jezzine and Marjeyoun have a Christian majority and also Shia Muslims. The villages of Ain Ebel, Debel, Qaouzah, and Rmaich are entirely Christian Maronite, the caza of Hasbaya has a Druze majority. Southern Lebanon has also featured prominently in the Israel-Lebanon conflict, in October 2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited South Lebanon. This was his first visit to Lebanon since he first assumed office in Tehran in 2005, both Israel and the United States condemned the trip as being provocative
27.
Litani River
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The Litani River, the classical Leontes, is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, exceeding 140 km in length, the Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 million cubic meters. The waters of the Litani both originate and flow entirely within the borders of Lebanon and it provides a major source for water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon, and the country as a whole. Sections of its lower reaches were under Israeli control during 1978, after heading south parallel to the Syrian border, as the Litani nears northern Israel, the course of the river bends dramatically westward. Near this bend, the Litani comes within five km of the Hasbani River, the portion of the river flowing west is called the Qasimiyeh. For the entire stretch of the Qasimiyeh as it flows into the Mediterranean Sea,10 km north of Tyre, the river is crossed by the ancient Leontes Bridge. In June 1941, the mouth of the river was the site of an attack by British commandos and Australian troops on Vichy French forces that became known as the Battle of the Litani River. Qaraoun, a lake of 11 square km, was created by the Litani River Dam,60 meters high and 1,350 meters in length. A spillway of 6503 meters carries the water to the station where generators produce a maximum of 185 megawatts of electricity. The dam was intended eventually to provide irrigation for 310 km² of farmland in South Lebanon and 80 km² in the Beqaa Valley, the office is at the southern end of the lake on the left side. The lakeside has a hotel and a number of restaurants specializing in fresh trout, the Litani River Authority was formed in 1954 to facilitate the integrated development of the Litani River Basin. Shortly after its formation, the LRA engaged in a hydroelectric development project that tapped the 850 meter head potential between Lake Qaraoun and the Mediterranean. These changes have resulted in the effective separation between the ULB and the Litani lower reaches. The subsequent return to normal conditions has encouraged the LRA to initiate several major water projects from the ULB worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Ramadan, H. H. Beighley, R. E and Ramamurthy, temperature and precipitation trends in Lebanon’s largest river, the Litani Basin”, American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management,139, pp. 86–95. Ramadan, H. H. Ramamurthy, A. S. and Beighley, inter-annual temperature and precipitation variations over the Litani Basin in response to atmospheric circulation patterns”, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Volume 108, Numbers 3-4, pp. 563–577. Ramadan, H. H. Beighley R. E. modeling Streamflow Trends for a Watershed with Limited Data, A case on the Litani Basin, Lebanon” Hydrological Sciences Journal,57, pp. 1516–1529. Ramadan, H. H. Ramamurthy A. S. sensitivity of the Litani Basin’s runoff in Lebanon to climate change. ”International Journal of Environment and Pollution
28.
Blue Line (Lebanon)
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The Blue Line is a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. At the same time, an extension, expressly not to be called the Blue Line corresponds to the nominal Lebanese–Syrian border between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, in response, Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon from which the PLO operated regularly during the 1970s. This operation is known in Israel as Operation Litani, on 19 March 1978 the Council adopted Resolution 425, in which it called upon Israel to cease immediately its military action and withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory. It also established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the first UNIFIL troops arrived in the area on 23 March 1978. The Blue Line is based on the deployment of the IDF prior to 14 March 1978 and it should not be confused with the Green Line, established in 1949, which is the armistice line of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The 1949 agreement stated that the border would follow the 1923 line, in 1923,38 boundary markers were placed along the 49 mile border and a detailed text description was published. The 2000 Blue Line differs in about a dozen short stretches from the 1949 line. The UN thus conducted its own based on the line discussed in United Nations Security Council Resolution 425. On 25 May 2000 the government of Israel notified the Secretary-General that Israel had redeployed its forces in compliance with Security Council resolutions 425. From 24 May to 7 June 2000, the Special Envoy travelled to Israel, Lebanon, the United Nations cartographer and his team, assisted by UNIFIL, worked on the ground to identify a line to be adopted for the practical purposes of confirming the Israeli withdrawal. On 7 June the completed map showing the line was formally transmitted by the Force Commander of UNIFIL to his Lebanese. On 8 June UNIFIL teams led by Lebanese Brig, general Amin Htait commenced the work of verifying the Israeli withdrawal behind the line. The withdrawal line has been termed the Blue Line in all official UN communications since, on 7 October 2000 three Israeli soldiers—Adi Avitan 22, Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham 21, and Staff Sgt, omar Sawaid 27—were abducted by Hezbollah forces. Of the seven Israeli soldiers in the two jeeps, two were wounded, five were killed, and two soldiers were taken to Lebanon, Israel responded with massive airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Lebanese troops have responded by firing at the Israeli jets with obsolete anti-aircraft weapons, Lebanese officials have filed over 1600 air space violations by Israel since the 2000 withdrawal. On 3 August 2010 Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers opened fire on Israeli army soldiers performing tree-cutting maintenance work on the Israeli side of the Blue Line as confirmed by UNIFIL, one Israeli was killed by Lebanese army fire and three Lebanese died when the Israel Defense Forces responded. UNIFIL determined that the Israeli troops were on Israeli territory, on 1 August 2011, UNIFIL confirmed a border incident in which no one was hurt
29.
Hezbollah
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Hezbollah —also transliterated Hizbullah, Hizballah, etc. —is a Shia Islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon. Hezbollahs paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its wing is Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese parliament. After the death of Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, the group has been headed by Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli occupation. Hezbollah waged a campaign in South Lebanon and as a result, Israel withdrew from Lebanon on May 24,2000. Backed by Iran, Hezbollah fighters fought against Serbian forces during the Bosnian War, Hezbollahs military strength has grown so significantly that its paramilitary wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah is part of the March 8 Alliance within Lebanon, in opposition to the March 14 Alliance, Hezbollah maintains strong support among Lebanons Shia population, while Sunnis have disagreed with the groups agenda. Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran, Hezbollah and Israel fought each other in the 2006 Lebanon War. It has deployed its militia in both Syria and Iraq to fight or train local forces to fight against ISIS, Hezbollahs status as a legitimate political party, a terrorist group, a resistance movement, or some combination thereof is a contentious issue. The Arab League, United States, France, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the European Union, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have proscribed Hezbollahs military wing as a terrorist organization, while making a distinction with Hezbollahs political wing. Russia considers Hezbollah a legitimate sociopolitical organization, the Peoples Republic of China remains neutral, and maintains contacts with Hezbollah. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Israel occupied a strip of south Lebanon, which was controlled by the South Lebanon Army, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli occupation. Scholars differ as to when Hezbollah came to be a distinct entity, another version states that it was formed by supporters of Sheikh Ragheb Harb, a leader of the southern Shia resistance killed by Israel in 1984. These designations are considered to be synonymous with Hezbollah by the US, Israel, Hezbollah emerged in South Lebanon during a consolidation of Shia militias as a rival to the older Amal Movement. Hezbollah played a significant role in the Lebanese civil war, opposing American forces in 1982–83 and opposing Amal, however, Hezbollahs early primary focus was ending Israels occupation of southern Lebanon following Israels 1982 invasion and siege of Beirut. Amal, the main Lebanese Shia political group, initiated guerrilla warfare, in 2006, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak stated, When we entered Lebanon … there was no Hezbollah. We were accepted with perfumed rice and flowers by the Shia in the south and it was our presence there that created Hezbollah. Hezbollah waged a war using suicide attacks against the Israel Defense Forces. Hezbollah also employed more conventional military tactics and weaponry, notably Katyusha rockets, in the 1990s, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group into a political one, in a process which is described as the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah
30.
Secretary-General of the United Nations
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The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the Secretary-General in particular, is out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter. As of 2017, the Secretary-General is António Guterres, appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October 2016, according to the UN website, their roles are further defined as diplomat and advocate, civil servant, and CEO. Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out, responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100. They are also responsible for making a report to the General Assembly. According to Article 99, they may notify the Security Council on matters which in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace, other than these few guidelines, little else is dictated by the Charter. Interpretation of the Charter has varied between Secretaries-General, with some being more active than others. The Secretary-General is highly dependent upon the support of the states of the UN. The personal skills of the Secretary-General and their staff are crucial to their function, the central position of the UN headquarters in the international diplomatic network is also an important asset. The Secretary-General has the right to place any dispute on the agenda of the Security Council. However, they work mostly behind the scenes if the members of the council are unwilling to discuss a dispute. Most of their time is spent on good offices missions and mediation, sometimes at the request of deliberative organs of the UN and their function may be replaced or supplemented by mediation efforts by the major powers. UN peacekeeping missions are often linked to mediation. The recent improvement in relations between the permanent members of the Security Council has strengthened the role of the Secretary-General as the worlds most reputable intermediary, in the early 1960s, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev led an effort to abolish the Secretary-General position. Khrushchev proposed to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading council, one member from the West, one from the Eastern Bloc and this idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal. Article 97 of the United Nations Charter determines that the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council, as the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto a nomination. Most Secretaries-General are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame, unofficial qualifications for the job have been set by precedent in previous selections
31.
Kofi Annan
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Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize and he is the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela. Born in Kumasi, Annan went on to study economics at Macalester College, international relations from the Graduate Institute Geneva, Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organizations Geneva office. He went on to work in several capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996 and he was re-elected for a second term in 2001, and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007. As the Secretary-General, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy, worked to combat HIV, especially in Africa and he has been criticized for not expanding the Security Council and faced calls for resignation after an investigation into the Oil-for-Food Programme. After leaving the UN, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development, in 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution to ongoing conflict there. Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UNs lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution, in September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis. Kofi Annan was born in the Kofandros section of Kumasi in the Gold Coast on 8 April 1938 and his twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shared the middle name Atta, which in the Akan means twin. Annan and his sister were born one of the countrys Ashanti and Fante aristocratic families. In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday. Annan has said his surname rhymes with cannon in English, from 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan has said that the school taught him that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere, in 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from Britain and began using the name Ghana. In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his studies in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. Annan then completed a diplôme détudes approfondies DEA degree in International Relations at The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the Sloan Fellows program. Annan is fluent in English, French, Akan, some Kru languages, in 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations. From 1974 to 1976, he worked as the Director of Tourism in Ghana, in 1980 he became the head of personnel for the office of the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva
32.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
33.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
34.
Bangladesh
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Bangladesh, officially the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It shares land borders with India and Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and China are located near Bangladesh but do not share a border with it. The countrys maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area, Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country. Dhaka is its capital and largest city, followed by Chittagong which has the countrys largest port, Bangladesh forms the largest and eastern part of the Bengal region. Bangladeshis include people of different ethnic groups and religions, Bengalis, who speak the official Bengali, make up 98% of the population. The politically dominant Bengali Muslims make the nation the worlds third largest Muslim-majority country, most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km of inland waterways, highlands with evergreen forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef and it is home to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The countrys biodiversity includes a vast array of plant and wildlife, including critically endangered Bengal tigers, the Greeks and Romans identified the region as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom of the historical subcontinent, in the 3rd century BCE. Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh, which had trade links for millennia. The Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Bengal transformed the region into a cosmopolitan Islamic imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries, the region was home to many principalities which had inland naval prowess. It was also a center of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. As part of British India, the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance, the Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan, and was renamed as East Pakistan. The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after independence, a parliamentary republic was established. A presidential government was in place between 1975 and 1990, followed by a return to parliamentary democracy, the country has also been affected by poverty, natural disasters, hunger, dominant party systems and military coups. Bangladesh is a power and a major developing nation. Listed as one of the Next Eleven, it has the 46th largest economy and it is one of the largest textile exporters in the world. Its major trading partners are the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, with its strategically vital location between Southern, Eastern and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation
35.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
36.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
37.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
38.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
39.
German Navy
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The German Navy is the navy of Germany and part of the unified Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the Bundesmarine from 1956 until 1995 when Deutsche Marine became the name with respect to the 1990 incorporation of the East German Volksmarine. It is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance and its primary mission is protection of Germanys territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well as sea lines of communication. Apart from this, the German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations and they also participate in Anti-Piracy operations. The German Navy traces its roots back to the Reichsflotte of the era of 1848–52. The Reichsflotte was the first German navy to sail under the black-red-gold flag, in 1956, with West Germanys accession to NATO, the Bundesmarine, as the navy was known colloquially, was formally established. In the same year the East German Volkspolizei See became the Volksmarine, during the Cold war the all of the German Navys combat vessels were assigned to NATOs Allied Forces Baltic Approachess naval command NAVBALTAP. With the accession of East Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 the Volksmarine along with the whole National Peoples Army became part of the Bundeswehr. Since 1995 the name German Navy is used in international context, as of 16 December 2016, the strength of the navy is 16,137 men and women. A number of forces have operated in different periods. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against international terrorism such as Operation Enduring Freedom, presently the largest operation the German Navy is participating in is UNIFIL off the coast of Lebanon. The German contribution to this operation is two frigates, four fast attack craft, and two auxiliary vessels, the naval component of UNIFIL has been under German command. The navy is operating a number of development and testing installations as part of an inter-service, among these is the Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters, an affiliated centre of Allied Command Transformation. The COE CSW was established in April 2007 and officially accredited by NATO on 26 May 2009 and it is co-located with the staff of the German Flotilla 1 in Kiel whose Commander is double-hatted as Director, COE CSW. The displacement of the navy is 220,000 tonnes, in addition, the German Navy and the Royal Danish Navy are in cooperation in the Ark Project. This agreement made the Ark Project responsible for the strategic sealift of German armed forces where the charter of three roll-on-roll-off cargo and troop ships are ready for deployments. In addition, these ships are kept available for the use of the other European NATO countries. The three vessels have a displacement of 60,000 tonnes
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European Maritime Force
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The European Maritime Force is a non-standing, military force with the current participation of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The force may carry out naval, air and amphibious operations, in June 1992, the Petersberg tasks were set out, defining which potential missions that could be assumed by the Western European Union in the new post-Cold War situation. Consequently, the identification of forces needed to carry out such missions was required, the following September a ministerial meeting between the governments of Spain, Portugal, France and Italy resolved their willingness to create an international maritime force. This led to the signing of the document of the European Maritime Force in Lisbon on 15 May 1995. The force came into existence on 2 October 1995, with the appointment of the Spanish Admiral Acedo Manteola as its first commander, a number of operations and exercises were undertaken in the following years. The first was Operation Coherent Behaviour in eastern Mediterranean in 2002, during this Operation, EMF was in close cooperation with NATO in the frame of Operation Active Endeavor. This was the first autonomous operation in the history of the force, upon the completion of this first participation in RWO, another challenge was taken up by EMF and the force activated to take part in a new RWO. The participation of EMF in an Operation like this, demonstrated the EMF Nations cohesion and determination, EUROMARFOR participated also in Operation UNIFIL between 2008 and 2009, under the aegis of UN. During this activation, the EMF at sea Commander acted as CTF448, once again EMF demonstrated its flexibility and its capacity of acting under the aegis of a different Organization. In fact it was a milestone not only for EMF. The latest activation of EMF, in order to participate in the EU’s Operation Atalanta in Indian Ocean and this activation lasted for 20 months and ended in August 2013. In December 2013, the force reactivated for participating in the same Operation once again, from its foundation, EMF, has been activated for a total period of 62 months for participation in RWO. The High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee is at the top level of EMF organization, the body is composed by Chiefs of Defence, Political Head Directorates of Defence and Foreign Affairs Ministries and credited representatives of participating nations. The CIMIN ensures the politico-military direction of the participating countries establishes the conditions for the employment of the force, CIMIN meetings are convoked when necessary, at the request of any of the member states. The Politico-Military Working Group is the body of CIMIN. The POLMIL WG is composed by the representatives from the CHODs and it takes care of all the activities related to the development and external relations of the Force and ensures the implementation of the CIMIN decisions. The POLMIL WG also appoints a Staff of the EMF countries to act as CIMIN Secretariat, for the conduct of its daily activities, under the POLMIL WG, is the EUROMARFOR Sub working group. The EMF is composed by Director who is an Officer of the nationality as the CEMF and four representatives
41.
Patria Pasi
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The Patria Pasi is a Finnish made six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. The first version was produced in 1983 and serial production began in 1984 and it was designed to operate with ease of use, simple structure and low-cost maintenance. The basic appearance and configuration of Patria Pasi is similar to most wheeled APCs, the XA-180 and XA-185 versions are fully amphibious while the XA-203 is not. In 1980, Sisu produced an XA-180 prototype for Finnish Army tests and it competed against two other prototypes, but was declared the winner of the trials in 1983. On 22 December 1983 the Finnish Army ordered a first batch of fifty XA-180s, the vehicle proved quite successful and more orders were soon to follow. The XA-180 was originally manufactured and marketed by the Finnish company Sisu Auto, the Vehicles widely known nickname Pasi stems from the Finnish name panssari-Sisu. The main superstructure is mainly manufactured from 6 to 12 mm of steel and the bottom is mine strengthened. The vehicle has continuous six wheel drive and good capabilities for off-road driving and it can take inclines up to a maximum of 60°. The XA series has no armament, but is equipped with a rotating turret-structure for installation of light/heavy machine guns or autocannons. It also has 8 BMP style firing ports on the sides, therefore, passengers, usually a squad of infantry, can fire their weapons from the cover of the armor. The XA series is popular in peacekeeping missions due to its mobility, non-aggressive appearance and it also offers more internal space compared to other similar vehicles like the Fuchs or BTR-80. The Sisu Pasi has seen service in several areas, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Eritrea, Golan Heights, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Namibia, Liberia, Somalia. Pasis have also used by the Finnish police in sieges. Sisu XA-180 Original six wheeler, carries crew of 2 and 16 troops, Sisu XA-185 Upgraded version, carries crew of 2 and 18 troops. Has a more powerful engine and improved power transmission, Used as ambulance in the Norwegian Army. Armoured and machine assisted gun turret, can not swim because of the heavy armour. Engine and transmission same as XA-185, Sisu XA-188 Used by the Netherlands Army. Sisu XA-200 The 200 series looks a little different from older variants due to increased armour and it lacks amphibious capabilities but can wade through water that is up to 1.5 m deep
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