United Nations Forces

The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation, established after World War Two, to maintain peace and security throughout the world. The UN also seeks to ensure adherence to international law and protect fundamental human rights. Australia was a founding member, and since the late 1940s has been involved in many peacekeeping missions around the world as part of the UN. Please note that the particular involvement of South Australian is difficult to determine.

For more information see the United Nations Peacekeeping website, which has details of all past and present peacekeeping missions, and Peter Londey's book Other people's wars : a history of Australian peacekeeping (2003). In the resources section of the United Nations Peacekeeping website you can find out how many Australians are currently contributing to UN peacekeeping missions.

While the State Library of South Australia holds some reference works related to United Nations peacekeeping forces, we hold little in the way of records relating to South Australians involved. Those items with a South Australian interest include an oral history with Brent Aldridge who served with United Nations forces in Cyprus and East Timor.