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| 1992 |
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| Divisions of states. The breakup of existing states was an important aspect of world affairs. The Soviet Union completed its transformation into a group of independent states that had been republics in the former union. Yugoslavia experienced increasingly violent conflict among the constituent parts of the former federation. Serbian opposition to the other groups was a main theme, and Serb forces attacked Bosnia and Herzegovina, which voted for independence in February. Czechoslovakia peacefully moved toward becoming two separate republics, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, by the beginning of 1993. Throughout the year, CANADA debated constitutional changes that included self-government for Native Americans and special status for Quebec, but the issues were not resolved by the end of the year. | 1 |
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| Jan |
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| Boutros Boutros-Ghali, an Egyptian, became the sixth secretary general of the United Nations. An agreement bringing peace to El Salvador after 12 years of civil war was signed in Mexico City. Outgoing UN secretary general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar had successfully mediated the resolution to the conflict. | 2 |
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| Feb |
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| U.S. president Bush and Russian president Yeltsin signed a statement of general principles that brought a formal END TO THE COLD WAR. | 3 |
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| June |
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| UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro. Leaders from 178 countries attended, signing agreements that emphasized the necessity of global approaches to environmental issues. | 4 |
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| July–Aug |
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| Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona. They were the first summer games since 1972 to be unaffected by a political boycott, and South African athletes competed for the first time in 32 years. | 5 |
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| Sept |
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| Meeting of the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations was held in Jakarta. Delegates from 108 states discussed the role of the nonaligned movement in the post–cold war era. It was concluded that the movement still had an obligation to represent the poorer countries of the world. The International Court of Justice resolved a border dispute between Honduras and El Salvador that had lasted more than a century. | 6 |
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| Dec |
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| U.S. troops acting in the name of the United Nations arrived in Somalia to assist in the distribution of emergency famine relief. Because of anarchic civil war conditions, there was no functioning government in Somalia. | 7 |
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