The Arab Spring began in 2010 as a wave of protests and uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. It started in Tunisia when a fruit seller set himself on fire after police confiscated his goods, sparking anger against the corrupt government. This led to protests that spread online and grew large enough to overthrow the Tunisian president. Inspired by Tunisia's success, protests erupted in Egypt in 2011 and eventually led to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak after 18 days. As the Arab Spring continued, other countries like Libya faced growing protests, with Gaddafi launching a violent crackdown until the UN authorized international intervention against his forces. The UN sought to promote peace, rights, and development in response, but faced challenges interven

2. WHAT IS THE ARAB SPRING?
The Arab Spring is a term given to the
revolutionary wave of riots, protests and
civil wars, that is taking place in the Arab
world which began in December, 2010.
Throughout 2010 to 2011, The Arab
Spring swept across many nations in the
Northern section of Africa (Libya, Egypt,
Tunisia, etc.), and then started to spread
across the whole of the Persian Gulf
(Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen, etc.).

3. TUNISIA – THE START OF THE
UPRISING...
The Arab Spring began after a Tunisian fruitseller from Sid
Bouzid called Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ignited himself
in desperation because his goods were taken from him by the
Police and nobody cared.
This caused anger and frustration in the citizens of Sid Bouzid
which resulted in protests, that escalated into riots and street
wars.
The internet and social media (Facebook and Youtube) allowed
protestors to record what was happening and upload to the
internet for other Tunisians and the World to see. News rapidly
spread of the events in Sid Bouzid and riots began to break out
in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
The protestors managed to overthrow the current
president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and declared Tunisia a free
nation.
News spread throughout the Arab World of how Tunisia
managed to overthrow their corrupt leader….
Protestors during the
Tunisian Revolution.

4. REVOLUTION EXTENDS INTO EGYPT
After the events in Tunisia, other Arab Nations believed that if
Tunisia could overthrow their government, they could too. The
Egyptian people, unhappy with their corrupt government, were
inspired by the events in Tunisia.
Protests in Egypt began on 25th January 2011 and ran for 18
days. On 28th January at midnight, the Egyptian government
attempted, somewhat successfully, to eliminate the nation's
Internet access, in order to disable the protesters' ability to
use social media to organize demonstrations. Later that day, as
tens of thousands of people protested on the streets of Egypt's
major cities, President Hosni Mubarak dismissed his
government, later appointing a new cabinet. Mubarak also
appointed the first Vice President in almost 30 years.
After 18 days of non violent and violent protests, The Vice
President delcared that Mubarak had withdrawn and fled to
Saudi Arabia.
After both the Egyptians and the Tunisians had
succeeded, other nations wanted to follow in suit...
Protestors from the
Egyptian Revoulotion.

5. REGIMES IN OTHER ARAB COUTRIES
FIGHT BACK...
Now the Arab Spring was at a high. Most of North Africa
were following suit, most significantly notable was Libya.
Colonel Muammar al Gadafi, the country‘s tyrannical
leader, knew what would happen if he allowed the social
media to be accessed in his country, so he blocked all
websites such as Facebook and Youtube.
As the situation seemed to be under control, Gadafi
decided to unblock social media sites, a decision he would
come to badly regret.
Now the internet was unblocked, young bloggers who had
access to social media sites were able to plan protests
against Gadafi. As th eprotests continued and gained in
strength, local militias joined forces with the protestors
and defeated Gadafi‘s supporters. After this, Gadafi fled to
an unknown location and Libya broke out into Civil War
with the Rebels fighting the government and eventually
winning.
The Lybian flag whilst Gadafi
had control of Lybia (19772011).
The current Lybian flag after
the rebels took control (2011present)

6. THE ARAB SPRING UNFOLDS
TIMELINE AND MAP
http://warsclerotic.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/gaddafi-dead-obama-warns-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad/

7. THE UNITED NATIONS - BACKGROUND
Name: The United Nations (UN)
Established: 24th October, 1945
Headquaters: New York
Current General: Ban ki-moon
The United Nations is an intergovernmental
organization created to ensure international
co-operation.
The UN was set up following the disastrous
events of WWII to stop such a conflict of that
scale occuring again. It was founded with 51
nations and has now expanded to 193
nations.
The UN is split into 3 main sections, each
one with different achievements and goals.
The current Secretary General,
Ban ki-moon of South Korea

8. THE UN‘S GOALS IN RELATION TO THE
ARAB SPRING
1. Peacekeeping and Security
To send peacekeepers to countries where fighting has
recently stopped or paused to ensure the terms of peace
agreements are carried out and attempt to prevent
further unrest.
2. Human Rights
To protect the freedom and rights of all individuals with
no distinction of race, gender, language or religous
beliefs.
3. Economic Development and Humanitarian Assistance
To gain international help in order to deal with
economic, social, cultural and problems on a human
level.

9. UN REACTION - TUNISIA
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that,
“The political situation is developing fast and every effort must be
made by all concerned parties to establish dialogue and resolve
problems peacefully to prevent further loss, violence and escalations."

10. UN REACTION - EQYPT
• United Nations Silence on Revolution in Egypt Is Deafening
•
By BENNY AVNI, Special to the Sun | February 11, 2011
•
http://www.nysun.com/foreign/united-nations-silence-on-revolution-in-egypt-is/87238/
•
UNITED NATIONS – While the Middle East undergoes a remarkable transformation, one New
York spot that remains almost defiantly uninterested – and totally irrelevant – is Turtle Bay.
Like the Baskerville Hound, the United Nations won’t bark.
•
Our ambassador here, Susan Rice, is finalizing a “major address” she’s expected to deliver
tonight at Portland, where the World Affairs Council of Oregon is meeting. The title of her
address — “Facing 21st Century Threats: Why America Needs the United Nations.”
•
Good question.
•
At the height of the Egypt crisis, the General Assembly convened to launch an “international
year of forests,” complete with earth shaking rhetoric about the need for tree preservation. In
Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief, Navi Pillay, spoke against the use of the death penalty
around the world. Members of the Security Council, who are charged with averting threats to
international peace and security, leisurely went through the motions of out their February
schedule.

11. UN REACTION - LIBYA
The Times World stated „As Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces closed in on the rebel capital
of Benghazi, Thursday, the Obama Administration not only came around to the idea of
imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, but sought — and won — U.N. Security Council
authorization for ground attacks on regime forces threatening to storm the rebel “capital” of
Benghazi. Western and at least two Arab air forces (believed to be Qatar and UAE) stood
ready to launch attacks “within hours” of the vote, according to the Guardian quoting
Western officials, in order to stop a regime advance on Benghazi.”
The Times World also stated “But while it saves the rebellion from military defeat, the U.N.
intervention also precludes the rebels seeking a military victory. The international military
intervention is attached to a demand for “the immediate establishment of a cease-fire and a
complete end to violence” and “the need to intensify efforts to find a solution to the crisis
which responds to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people and notes the decisions of
the Secretary-General to send his Special Envoy to Libya and of the Peace and Security
Council of the African Union to send its ad hoc High Level Committee to Libya with the aim
of facilitating dialogue to lead to the political reforms necessary to find a peaceful and
sustainable solution.”
Read more: U.N. Intervention Vote Saves Libya’s Revolution From Defeat |
TIME.com http://world.time.com/2011/03/17/u-n-intervention-vote-saves-libyasrevolution-from-defeat/#ixzz2ushojQUy

12. THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
HAVE THE UN ACHIEVED THEIR GOALS?
I cannot fully decide if the UN have achieved their goals
because in certain countries, there are still revolutions
occuring. But, I can decide if they are going in the right
direction.
The problem for the UN was that the events occured so fast,
that they were not able to intervene quickly enough. The UN
did become involved after the Libyan protests had broken out A UN confrence about the
Civil War in Libya
and once Civil War was declared. They called for a “cease
fire“ and for no millitary hardware to be used against Gadafi
and in return, for Gadafi to cease fire on the Rebel Forces.
Despite this, fighting still occured until the Rebel forces took
control of Libya and Gadafi fled. Even though their
declarations did not succeed as hoped, it does not mean they
have totally failed. Unrest and fighting is still continuing in
Syria and other areas. In my opinion, I think that the UN has
achieved some of their goals in certain countries, but there is
still much progress to be made. What do you think?
The UN peacekeepers that
were sent in.