United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans (UNSCOB)

Duration:21 October 1947 - 31 July 1951Military personnel:5Fatalities:noneDecorations:none

Since its independence in 1829, Greece had been an economically weak and politically divided
state, in which various factions vied for power. The year 1945 was characterised by an increasing
number of clashes between the national army on one side and the communist guerrillas on the
other, and in the course of 1946, the violence erupted into a civil war.

Dutch contribution

Complaint at the UN Security Council

On 3 December 1946, the Greek government complained to the UN Security Council about the
interference by its northern communist neighbours in the national affairs of Greece. The Council
conducted an investigation but proved unable to reach a decision as to the course that should be
adopted with regard to the Greek issue and handed the matter over to the UN General
Assembly.

UN establishes Special Committee on the Balkans

With resolution 109 (II) on 21 October 1947, the General Assembly established the United
Nations Special Committee on the Balkans (UNSCOB). Nine of the eleven members of the
Security Council, including the Netherlands, each provided two delegates for UNSCOB. The
Soviet Union and Poland declined to participate. The four nations involved were required by the
resolution to seek a peaceful resolution to their differences.

Observers along the Greek border

The General Assembly instructed UNSCOB to monitor progress and to provide support if
requested. To this end, the commission appointed observer groups, but these were hampered in
their work from the outset because Greece’s neighbours denied them access. The commission
posted the observers in seven patrol bases along the northern border of Greece, which were
used as operating bases for patrols lasting several days.