United Nations Operation in Somalia I in the context of "United Nations Security Council Resolution 775"

The United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on from the transitory United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had been preceded by UNOSOM I. Notably, UNOSOM II embarked on a nation-building mission, diverging from its predecessors. As delineated in UNSCR 814, the operation's objectives were to aid in relief provision and economic rehabilitation, foster political reconciliation, and re-establish political and civil administrations across Somalia.

UNOSOM II was a substantial multinational initiative, uniting over 22,000 troops from 27 nations. This operation marked the largest multilateral force ever assembled for peacekeeping, and at that time, it was the costliest UN operation. The operation abandoned the careful rules of engagement set by UNITAF, and notably was the first UN mission authorized from the start to use military force proactively, beyond self-defense.

The Somali Civil War (Somali: Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; Arabic: الحرب الأهلية الصومالية al-ḥarb al-’ahliyya aṣ-ṣūmāliyya) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the Somaliland War of Independence in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.

Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum and turmoil that followed, particularly in the south. In 1990–92, customary law temporarily collapsed, and factional fighting proliferated. In the absence of a central government, Somalia became a "failed state". This precipitated the arrival of UNOSOM I UN military observers in July 1992, followed by the larger UNITAF and UNOSOM II missions. Following an armed conflict between Somali insurgents and UNOSOM II troops during 1993, the UN withdrew from Somalia in 1995. After the central government's collapse and the withdrawal of UN forces, there was some return to customary and religious law in most regions. In 1991 and 1998, two autonomous regional governments were also established in the northern part of the country: Somaliland and Puntland. In the south Islamic Sharia courts began proliferating in response to lawlessness. This led to a relative decrease in the intensity of the fighting, with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute removing Somalia from its list of major armed conflicts for 1997 and 1998.

The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States–led, United Nations–sanctioned coalition military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I), which had been deployed in April 1992 in response to the 1992 famine—a crisis that followed the 1991 collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic and the full outbreak of the Somali Civil War.

UNITAF was mandated to create a secure environment for humanitarian operations "by all necessary means". The task force, led by 28,000 US troops, included international contributions from dozens of armed forces, totaling around 37,000 troops. Military deployments focused on the south, as central and northern Somalia remained relatively stable. UNITAF forces began landing in Somalia during early December 1992, by which point the famine had almost ended; it has been estimated that relief efforts only shortened the famine by one month.

Operation Provide Relief was a United States spearheaded humanitarian relief airlift that ran from August to December 1992 in response to the famine in Somalia. This effort was assisted by the United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) mission, in light of a severe food crisis initiated and exacerbated by ongoing factional fighting. However, there were significant obstructions to delivering relief aid due to the security situation. This prompted the UN to pass Resolution 794, which paved the way for the more robust, multinational Unified Task Force operation in December 1992.

The 1992 famine in Somalia resulted from a severe drought and devastation caused by warring factions in southern Somalia, primarily the Somali National Front, in the fertile inter-riverine breadbasket between the Jubba and Shebelle rivers. The resulting famine primarily affected residents living in the riverine area, predominantly in Bay Region, and those internally displaced by the civil war.

During the second half of 1992, the famine began to recede, partly due to the lull in fighting, which allowed the first crop harvest in the Lower Shebelle region, and also due to large-scale international food deliveries. Local Somali-led initiatives formed to address starvation were eventually overwhelmed, particularly in the Bay region. The crisis led to the creation of UNOSOM I in April 1992. The Red Cross took lead of the response, spending more than half of its 1992 budget on the crisis and distributing 75% of all relief in Somalia. From August to December 1992, the United States operated an aid airlift to the Red Cross that saved approximately 40,000 lives.

United Nations Security Council resolution 751 is a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted unanimously on 24 April 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992) and 746 (1992) and considering a report by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on the ongoing civil war in Somalia. The council established a United Nations Operation in Somalia I with an immediate deployment of 50 observers in the capital Mogadishu to monitor the ceasefire.

The Council went on to establish, in principle, a security force under the direction of the newly created post, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Somalia, and requested further consultations on the proposed force. It also asked the Secretary-General to facilitate an immediate cessation of hostilities and an observance of a ceasefire throughout the country to promote the process of reconciliation and to provide humanitarian aid. The resolution also welcomed the efforts of the Arab League, Organisation of African Unity and Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Somalia and called for a conference with the aforementioned, the Secretary-General and factions in Somalia.

United Nations Security Council resolution 767, adopted unanimously on 24 July 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992) and 751 (1992), the Council noted the ongoing humanitarian efforts in Somalia by the United Nations and the deteriorating political situation in the country.

The council requested the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to make full use of all available means, including an urgent airlift operation, in accelerating and facilitating the provision of humanitarian aid to the affected population in Somalia who were at risk of mass starvation. It also requested relevant parties, factions in movements in Somalia to help facilitate the humanitarian efforts by guaranteeing the safety and freedom of movement of humanitarian workers as well as assisting in the general stabilisation of the country. The resolution repeated similar demands applying to military observers of the United Nations Operation in Somalia I.