Australian military observers worked with the UN in Korea from 1948 until 1950 when North Korea invaded the South. The United Nations Commission on Korea (UNCOK) was formed to monitor the withdrawal of Japanese forces at the end of World War II and the settlement between the North and South Korea. Australian observers were the first to report the invasion of South Korea, and their work established for certain that communists in the north were responsible for the outbreak of war.
During the period from 1991 to 1993, Australians were at the forefront of peacekeeping efforts in Cambodia. Agreements signed in Paris in 1991 led to the formation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), established to supervise a negotiated peace and general elections. UNTAC was made up of 16 000 representatives from 32 countries, including 502 Australians. The main part of the Australian peacekeeping force comprised a Communications Unit initially drawn from the Army's 2nd Signal Regiment. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also contributed personnel to serve in Cambodia.
Australia's biggest involvement in peacekeeping began in 1999 when the United Nations formed the United Nations Advanced Mission in East Timor (UNAMET). Formerly a Portuguese colony, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, prompting an East Timorese struggle for independence that lasted more than twenty years. Finally, in the late 1990s, the Indonesian Government agreed to allow the East Timorese to vote on the issue and a referendum was organised for August 1999. Given the history of civil unrest in the country, the United Nations decided to send a peacekeeping force to monitor the voting. The results of the referendum demonstrated that the East Timorese were clearly in favour of independence. Unfortunately, some sections of the Indonesian military and a pro-Indonesian militia, the Aitarak, refused to accept the results and violence erupted.
The UN on the other hand formally accepted the results of the referendum and withdrew UNAMET in early September. To replace UNAMET, a multinational force was formed in an attempt to re-establish peace in East Timor. Australia contributed 4500 troops to the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET), including RAN and RAAF personnel, and an Australian, Major General Peter Cosgrove, headed the team. The Indonesian Government agreed to the deployment of the force that restored stability to East Timor within months. The Indonesian military left East Timor in September 1999, and the Indonesian Government formally recognised the referendum results on 19 October. When the crisis had abated, a second UN operation was established - the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The transition between the two groups took place on 28 February 2000. Australia continues its involvement in East Timor today, with 2000 military personnel serving with UNTAET.
