Many consider the birth of modern United Nations Peacekeepers to be in 1956, at the suggestion of Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson. Jeff Lee (dr_spock_888) from ToroLUG has put together this tribute to Canadian Peacekeeping. The Peacekeepers can be seen wearing their traditional Blue headgear (often referred to Blue Berets or Blue Helmets), and are clearly enforcing a peaceable transition for the civilians behind them.
Believing that a neutral, internationally led effort would help quell concerns from warring parties during the Suez Crisis, Pearson’s model for Peacekeeping served as the template for countless future conflict resolutions through impartial, light armed, international oversight. Pearson himself would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for this development, and later be elected to be Canada’s 14th Prime Minister, serving two back-to-back terms as a minority government leader.
The Suez Crisis and the foundation of the United Nations Emergency Forces of Peacekeepers for the first time put Canada on the stage internationally as a respected force for impartiality and peaceful transition. Since that time, thousands of Canadians have served as UN Peacekeepers, being sent around the world to oversee peaceable transitions of government and protect those who are in need, and over 100 Canadians have died serving as Peacekeepers.
Canada Builds 150 