UNTSO Force Commander, Major General Robert Mood (right), visits one of the UNDOF's observation posts in the Golan Heights.
13 March 2009
© UN Photo/Hanne Olafsen
The Force Commander and a General standing next to binoculars.

Mission facts

  • Location:
    Middle East
  • Headquarters:
    Government House, Jerusalem
  • Duration:
    May 1948 to present

Helping to bring stability in the Middle East

Set up in May 1948, UNTSO was the first ever peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations. Since then, UNTSO military observers have remained in the Middle East to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region to fulfill their respective mandates.

UNTSO personnel have also been available at short notice to form the nucleus of some other peacekeeping operations worldwide. The availability of UNTSO's military observers for almost immediate deployment after the Security Council had acted to create a new mission has been an enormous contributory factor to the early deployment and the success of those operations.