1st Edition

International Peacekeeping

Edited By Boris Kondoch Copyright 2007

    Peacekeeping has been the technique most frequently used by, and associated with, the United Nations to end conflicts and to preserve peace. In addition, international and regional organizations have also performed peacekeeping functions. Since the establishment of the first UN peacekeeping mission, UNEF I, in 1956, international lawyers have raised questions about the legal aspects of these operations. Traditionally, they analyzed the constitutional basis for peacekeeping and tried to allocate the authority under the UN Charter for peacekeeping among the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary General. They discussed the use of force by peacekeepers, the applicability of international humanitarian law, as well as the responsibilities and liabilities of peacekeepers. Since the end of the cold war, peacekeeping operations have become more complex. In the first forty years, peacekeepers functioned mainly as buffer zones between warring parties and monitored cease-fires. Nowadays, they are increasingly engaged in internal rather than international conflicts and perform a multitude of tasks. Among others, they act as civilian administrators, oversee elections and monitor human rights. These changes have raised new legal problems. Which human rights obligations exist for peacekeepers? Do peacekeepers have to intervene if they witness war crimes and acts of genocide? How are they protected under international law? What is the legal framework of UN administrations like in Kosovo and East Timor? In order to enhance a better understanding of these legal issues arising from peacekeeping operations, a collection of articles written by the leading experts in the field have been compiled in the volume, International Peacekeeping.

    Contents: Series preface; Introduction; Part I The Role and the Rule of Law in International Peacekeeping: The uses of law in international peace-keeping, Oscar Schachter; Rule of law strategies for peace operations, Nina Lahoud. Part II The Constitutional Basis of Peacekeeping: The legal basis of United Nations peace-keeping operations, Alexander Orakhelashvili; The UN Charter and peacekeeping forces: constitutional issues, Nigel D. White. Part III Principles of International Peacekeeping: The Consent of the Parties: Military intervention, regional organizations and host-state consent, David Wippmann; Host-state consent and United Nations peacekeeping in Yugoslavia, Christine Gray. Peacekeeping and the Use of Force: Beyond self-defense: United Nations peacekeeping operations and the use of force, Katherine E. Cox. The Legal Principles of Peacekeeping and the Brahimi Report: Changing 'peacekeeping' in the new millennium? - the recommendations of the panel on United Nations peace operations of August 2000, Heike Spieker . Part IV Law Applicable to Peacekeeping Operations: International Humanitarian Law: United Nations military operations and international humanitarian law: what rules apply to peacekeepers?, Ray Murphy; The Secretary-General's bulletin on observance by United Nations forces of international humanitarian law: some preliminary observations, Marten Zwanenberg; Maintaining discipline in United Nations peace support operations: the legal quagmire for military contingents, Peter Rowe; The fall of Srebrenica and the attitude of Dutchbat from an international legal perspective, Robert C.R. Siekmann. Human Rights: The creation and control of places of protection during United Nations peace operations, Bruce M. Oswald. International Criminal Law: Responsibilities of states participating in multilateral operations with respect to persons indicted for war crimes, Diane F. Orentlicher; The ambiguities of Security Council resolution 1422, (2002), Carsten Stahn.

    Biography

    Boris Kondoch is a Professor at University of Peace, South Korea.

    'This book is an unequalled coherent work which illustrates the range of problems of Peacekeeping Operations comprehensively...this publication has the potential to become a standard work in the area of international peacekeeping.' The Military Law and the Law of War Review