UN peacekeeping operations: when can unlawful acts committed by peacekeeping forces be attributed to the UN?

Legal Studies ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Buchan
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Peacekeeping Forces ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Unlawful Conduct ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Military

UN peacekeeping missions operate under the authority of the UN. However, the military personnel that constitute a UN peacekeeping mission remain organs of the states from which they are contributed. Thus, whether unlawful acts committed by peacekeepers can be attributed to the UN is dependent upon whether the peacekeeping force can be regarded as being under the direction and control of the UN. This is a question of fact. According to the ICJ and the International Law Commission, unlawful acts committed by peacekeeping forces will be attributed to the UN only where the UN exercised ‘effective control’ over the commission of the unlawful act. In contrast, the ECtHR has consistently propounded a very different test, asserting that unlawful acts will be attributed to the UN only where the UN retained ‘ultimate authority and control’ over the peacekeeping mission. I argue, however, that neither of these tests provides a suitable legal framework for determining attribution of unlawful conduct in the context of UN peacekeeping missions. After outlining the deficiencies of these tests, I submit that a more suitable approach to determining attribution would be based upon the overall control test as outlined by the ICTY in Tadić.

Mandated to Protect

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haidi Willmot ◽  
Ralph Mamiya
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

This chapter focuses on the conception and evolution of the UN Security Council mandate to protect civilians during peacekeeping operations from 1960 to the present. The chapter examines the normative and legal framework of the use of force to protect civilians in UN peacekeeping operations, with reference to Security Council resolutions and other bodies of international law such as humanitarian and human rights law. It considers Security Council practice between 1960 and 1999 and its emphasis on the concept of self-defence; Security Council practice from 1999 to 2007 regarding the inception and development of the explicit ‘protection of civilians’ mandate by the Council; Security Council practice from 2007 to 2011; and prioritization of the mandate in certain peacekeeping missions, specifically UNAMID (Sudan (Darfur)), MONUC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), UNOCI (Côte d’Ivoire), and UNMISS (South Sudan). Finally, the chapter describes Security Council practice from 2011 onwards and draws conclusions on impact that the protection of civilians mandate in peacekeeping operations has had on the evolution of the legitimate use of force under the UN Charter.

Disentangling ‘Effective Control’ Test for the Purpose of Attribution of the Conduct of un Peacekeepers to the States and the United Nations

2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Perova
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
International Court ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Unlawful Conduct ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Superior Responsibility ◽  
Law Commission

Despite the efforts of the United Nations (un), the world continues to hear news about un peacekeepers committing crimes in the state where they are deployed. One of the reasons is that the responsibility of the troop-contributing states for the conduct of their peacekeepers is not sufficiently recognised. In order to address the issue, this article advocates for ‘effective control’ to be interpreted as a material ability of a national contingent commander (for troop-contributing states) or un Force Commander (for the un) to prevent particular conduct (criminal act). Although representing a minority of academic views, this approach derives from superior responsibility, the International Court of Justice’s jurisprudence, is supported by the International Law Commission and in line with the un’s position and practice. Following this interpretation, the article concludes that in many instances unlawful conduct of peacekeepers will be attributed to the troop-contributing states and not only to the un.

What’s Wrong with Behrami and Saramati? Revisiting the Dichotomy between UN Peacekeeping and UN-authorized Operations in Terms of Attribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohei Okada
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Control Test ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
European Court ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
Harsh Criticism ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Control

Abstract The Behrami and Saramati decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has invited severe censure for discarding the well-established dichotomy between UN peacekeeping and UN-authorized operations, and applying the ultimate authority and control test instead of the effective control test for the purpose of attribution in the context of the UN-authorized operation in Kosovo. Harsh criticism notwithstanding, in Serdar Mohammed and Kontic, the domestic courts in the UK have recently followed the Behrami and Saramati approach. In Kontic, nearly 10 years after the Behrami and Saramati decision, the court found that the approach taken by the ECtHR was ‘persuasive authority of the very weightiest kind’. Therefore, it is high time for Behrami and Saramati to be revisited. This study argues that the ECtHR did apply the effective control test along with the ultimate authority and control test in Behrami and Saramati, and that the UK courts aligned themselves with this approach. The Behrami and Saramati decision was not fundamentally wrong as a matter of interpretation and the conclusion reached by the ECtHR that the misconduct was not attributable to the respondent states was not manifestly absurd. Nevertheless, the decision was not without deficiency because it failed to take full account of the delicate equilibrium that the effective control test seeks. The present study aims to precisely identify what was wrong with the decision.

Thailand’s Participation in un Peacekeeping Missions

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 236-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keokam Kraisoraphong ◽  
Brendan Howe
Keyword(s):  
Human Security ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Security Operations ◽  
International Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
The Military

This paper traces experiences of the Royal Thai Armed Forces in un peacekeeping missions. A relatively small troop contributor at first, Thailand later took a high-profile role in the un operations in East Timor during 1999–2005, and has continued since then to support several un peacekeeping forces. The paper first discusses the rationales, development, and current status of Thailand’s contributions. It then goes on to explore how, and to what extent, tasks and duties assigned under the un peacekeeping framework to the dispatched forces, as well as experiences and lessons the Thai armed forces gained from their participation in missions, contribute to the diffusion of norms and the development of functional competencies relating to peacekeeping and human security protection within the Thai military. The paper finds that while the dispatched forces received invaluable benefits in terms of prestige, economic rewards and learning experiences from the peacekeeping operations under the un command, including approaches to humanitarian assistance during the time of acute conflict and monitoring human rights violations, the human security norm underlying these functional competencies has yet to be fully internalized by the military as an institution. Yet, there are some areas, especially in civil-military affairs where competencies developed from the internal security operations and international peacekeeping operations can be mutually reinforcing.

POLISH SAPPERS IN UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

2012 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-248
Author(s):  
Piotr JAKUBOSZCZAK
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Forces ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Engineering troops have been part of UN peacekeeping forces since the first mission of the Polish Army, which began in the Middle East in 1973. The article presents the performance of engineering tasks playing an important role for the service of other troops participating in peacekeeping missions. Furthermore, the subject raised in the article presents the organization of engineering troops and their activity in the Middle East that was concluded in 2009.

Effective control test at the interface between the law of international responsibility and the law of international organizations: Managing concerns over the attribution of UN peacekeepers’ conduct to troop-contributing nations

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohei Okada
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Control Test ◽  
Preventive Approach ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
The Law ◽  
Court Of Appeal

AbstractOn 27 June 2017, in the Stichting Mothers of Srebrenica case, The Hague Court of Appeal applied the effective control test in determining attribution and found that the Netherlands was responsible for the failure of the Dutch battalion (Dutchbat) acting as a part of the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to protect civilians from the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. This judgment is of considerable significance because the court renounced the preventive approach to the effective control test, to which the Dutch courts had repeatedly declared their adherence, and reverted to the traditional (presumptive) approach. The preventive interpretation was originally proposed with a view to justifying much broader attribution to troop-contributing nations (TCNs). However, quite interestingly, the Court of Appeal reached the conclusion that the Dutchbat’s conduct was attributable to the Netherlands without recourse to the preventive approach. The present study argues that the legal framework for the attribution of UN peacekeepers’ conduct has developed in such a manner that the fair allocation of responsibility and the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations are in equilibrium. In that sense, the effective control test should be located at the interface between the law of international responsibility and the law of international organizations. It is illustrated that not only does the preventive interpretation fail to strike a fair balance between the institutional considerations and the need to provide remedies for victims of peacekeepers’ misconduct, but also the presumptive approach may lead to effective remedies while having due regard for the institutional considerations.

scholarly journals A Simulation Study on Spread of Disease and Control Measures in Closed Population Using ABM

Computation ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Youngmin Kim ◽  
Namsuk Cho
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Course Of Disease ◽  
Closed Population ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Distinct Solution ◽  
Disease Spreading ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Military

An infectious disease can cause a detrimental effect on national security. A group such as the military called a “closed population”, which is a subset of the general population but has many distinct characteristics, must survive even in the event of a pandemic. Hence, it requires its own distinct solution during a pandemic. In this study, we investigate a simulation analysis for implementing an agent-based model that reflects the characteristics of agents and the environment in a closed population and finds effective control measures for making the closed population functional in the course of disease spreading.

scholarly journals United Nations Role in Conflict Resolution Process: Case Study in Sierra Leone 1991-2002

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munif Prasojo ◽  
◽  
Helda Risman ◽  
Joni Widjayanto ◽  
Agus Winarna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Sierra Leonean ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Forces ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military

The phenomenon of international conflict that occurred after the Cold War opens the United Nations' opportunity to play a more significant role in maintaining international peace and security. UN peacekeeping operations are one form of response to the challenges that arise at this time. This operation is a multidimensional operation that includes peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding activities. The complexity of the conflict in Sierra Leone, West Africa, in the early 90s was caused by poor governance and illegal exploitation of diamonds, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties and various other problems, such as rising poverty and unemployment increasing numbers of refugees. Given the Sierra Leonean government’s powerlessness in resolving the conflict, the UN, about international organizations, intervened in restoring and achieving peace. In this article, the author tries to analyze the role of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone to resolve Sierra Leone’s internal conflicts in 1994-2005, with activities as a mediator for the warring parties and sending peacekeeping forces in the country. This paper is based on the author’s experience as a Military Observer at Unamsil and literature studies. The U.N./Unamsil played a significant role in resolving the conflict there. This needs to be known and informed to the general public and the military to understand the United Nations’ role better.

The UN Security Council as an eff ective instrument for ensuring peace and security stability in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
G. Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Member States ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Diffi Cult ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Peacekeeping Forces ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
The Military

The article highlights the activities of the UN in the African area: promoting the economic development of the UN states; combating international terrorism and organized crime; ensuring international security; preventing armed confl icts; strengthening cooperation of Member States in the fi ght against infectious and other dangerous diseases. The close attention of the UN Security Council to the political processes taking place on the African continent yields tangible results. Peacekeeping missions are being sent to hot spots in Africa. The military contingents of these missions, together with the army units of states, participate in the fi ght against militants of illegal armed formations, reduce the intensity of confl icts, help the civilian population to survive in a diffi cult military-political situation, as well as assist in the post-confl ict reconstruction of countries. Given the weakness and imperfection of the local armies, UN member states help to train the peacekeeping forces of African states. Russia, along with other states, is preparing Africans for peacekeeping activities through the Ministry of Internal Aff airs and the Ministry of Defense.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document