ational peace, economic security and in offering humanitarian aid to war struck and developing countries. However, the United Nations' grasp extends beyond these means. The UN, combined with private organizations such as the International Red Cross and the World Health Organization [WHO] have offered assistance to people worldwide. WHO and the UN provide an estimated one million vaccinations worldwide each year (Woog, UN, 70). UNICEF touches the lives of over one billion children under the age of 15 in 199 countries each year with school, medical, day-care, and life sustaining supplies and services. Since its creation, the UN has launched and contributed to a network of support organizations with the goal of international harmony. Former U.S. ambassador to the UN, Adlai Stevenson once said: "It is necessary assistance, not charity. It is help we owe each other and we owe ourselves" (Woog, UN, 71).Yet, despite peaceful aims, peace is not always an option. In 1992, The United Nations Operation in Somalia [UNOSOM I and II] was introduced. Somalia, at the time, lacked an official host government, and was run by various warring factions, all claiming to possess power over the country (Johnson, UN - Peacekeepers, 50). As a result, a task force was developed to end the civil war in Somalia. The initial force, UNOSOM I, was attacked by warring factions and declared it impossible to either protect the cease-fire, a condition of UN involvement, or to distribute relief supplies (Johnson, UN - Peacekeepers, 50). In 1993, UNOSOM II was developed with a UNITAF force of 28 000 troops to stabilize the Somalian country. Such numbers for a task force were uncommon at the time and UNOSOM required the use of force to disarm conflicting powers before relief work could begin.However, many other areas worldwide have been influenced by the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, [UNTAG] and other specialized peacekeeping forces have been assig...
