Monitoring Accountability for un Peacekeeping under iccpr

2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Member States ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping

This article aims to reveal the implications and significance of recent practices of the Human Rights Committee (hrc) in monitoring the human rights situation pertaining to peacekeeping operations; it also seeks to highlight the hrc’s roles in relation to either United Nations (un) member states’ or the un’s accountability over peacekeeping operations. The contribution is inspired by the current study and development of the accountability of international organisations. Empirical analysis shows the potential role of the hrc as one of the monitoring bodies of human rights situations in peacekeeping operations. A parallel question arises: what are the legal bases for the hrc monitoring of un member states’ or the un’s accountability with regard to peacekeeping operations? Considering the matter from various angles based on the concept of accountability reveals the background to and implication of the legal bases in question.

Leadership Selection in United Nations Peacekeeping

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kseniya Oksamytna ◽  
Vincenzo Bove ◽  
Magnus Lundgren
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Leadership Selection ◽  
Member States ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Military Commanders ◽  
Civilian Leaders

Abstract States covet leadership and staff positions in international organizations. The posts of civilian leaders and force commanders of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations are attractive to member states. In selecting peacekeeping leaders, the UN Secretariat balances three considerations: satisfying powerful member states by appointing their nationals; recognizing member states’ contribution to the work of the organization; and ensuring that leaders have the necessary skill set. We investigate appointments of more than 200 civilian and military leaders in 24 UN missions, 1990–2017. We find that contributing troops to a specific mission increases the chances of securing a peacekeeping leadership position. Geographic proximity between the leaders’ country and the conflict country is also a favorable factor whose importance has increased over time. Civilian leaders of UN peacekeeping operations tend to hail from institutionally powerful countries, while military commanders come from major, long-standing troop contributing countries. Despite some role that skills play in the appointment process, the UN's dependence on troop contributors, together with its reliance on institutionally powerful states, can be a source of dysfunction if it prevents the organization from selecting effective peacekeeping leaders. This dynamic affects other international organizations that have significant power disparities among members or rely on voluntary contributions.

The protection of civilians mandate in UN peacekeeping operations: reconciling protection concepts and practices

2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (891-892) ◽  
pp. 517-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haidi Willmot ◽  
Scott Sheeran
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Relations ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Physical Protection ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The Common

AbstractThe ‘protection of civilians’ mandate in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations fulfils a critical role in realising broader protection objectives, which have in recent years become an important focus of international relations and international law. The concepts of the ‘protection of civilians’ constructed by the humanitarian, human rights and peacekeeping communities have evolved somewhat separately, resulting in disparate understandings of the associated normative bases, substance and responsibilities. If UN peacekeepers are to effectively provide physical protection to civilians under threat of violence, it is necessary to untangle this conceptual and normative confusion. The practical expectations of the use of force to protect civilians must be clear, and an overarching framework is needed to facilitate the spectrum of actors working in a complementary way towards the common objectives of the broader protection agenda.

The Civilian Side of Peacekeeping: New Research Avenues

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Otto
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
New Research ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Systematic Knowledge

AbstractAlmost three decades ago the United Nations (UN) entered an era of multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations, in which civilian and uniformed personnel work together. At the same time, human rights promotion became an integral part of such missions. Due to data limitations, there is little systematic knowledge about how civilian staff impacts human rights standards in the countries UN peacekeeping operations are deployed. I address this lacuna in two ways. First, I briefly outline the importance of civilian staff in UN peacekeeping operations and their roles in promoting human rights. Second, I provide explorative descriptive statistics on the number of civilian personnel in UN peacekeeping operations and the occurrence of violence against civilians committed by state forces.

China as a peacekeeper—Past, present, and future

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-143
Author(s):  
Christoph Zürcher
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
Early Signs ◽  
Un Peacekeeping

Over the last 30 years, the People’s Republic of China (China) has evolved from a skeptic to a champion of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping. During that same period, UN peacekeeping has greatly changed. This paper traces how China has reacted to the various practical and doctrinal innovations of UN peacekeeping, such as the turn to more robust peacekeeping, the protection of civilians, the responsibility to protect, the call for better force protection as outlined in the Cruz report, and, finally, the Action for Peacekeeping initiative. The paper then discusses possible future developments of China’s role in UN peacekeeping. Given the increasing weight of China within the UN, it is likely that China will gradually become more involved in shaping peacekeeping concepts. Early signs can be seen in its approach to the role of human rights in peacekeeping and in its emerging conceptual understanding of peacebuilding.

scholarly journals United Nations Peacekeeping, Human Rights, and the Protection of Civilians

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-99
Author(s):  
Ibrahim J. Wani
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Independent Panel ◽  
Regional Engagement ◽  
High Level

Abstract Drawing on lessons from United Nations (UN) led peacekeeping operations in Africa, this chapter discusses the background and evolution of peacekeeping engagement on issues related to human rights, refugees, and internal displacement; the array of norms and institutions that have developed to formalize the mandate in the UN peacekeeping framework; and the experiences, lessons, and challenges in its implementation. Due to escalating challenges around protecting civilians and human rights violations, the chapter argues that UN peacekeeping must move beyond rhetoric. A genuine commitment to implement the recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) is a necessary first step. Enhanced mechanisms to compel host states to protect human rights within their borders and more regional engagement on thwarting “spoilers” are among several key follow-on measures.

scholarly journals Balancing Incentives Among Actors: A Carrots and Sticks Approach to Reputation in UN Peacekeeping Missions

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 113 ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Sabrina M. Karim
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Member States ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Competing Priorities ◽  
Mixed Motives

As Kristina Daugirdas points out in her article on the role of reputation in international organizations (IOs), peacekeeping operations include a multitude of actors with varying interests. These actors have competing priorities, which forces IOs to balance the needs of the actors involved in peacekeeping missions. Because IOs often depend on member states as implementing agents, this could cause IOs to suppress their own interests in favor of member states, which could ultimately negatively affect the communities in which the peacekeepers operate. This dynamic is present in UN peacekeeping operations. While Daugirdas seeks to align the incentives of the UN and the states that contribute peacekeepers so as to harness reputation as a force to encourage the good behavior of all involved, I argue that this alignment rarely happens because of IOs’ reliance on member states. Through the dynamics of UN peacekeeping operations, I show that the UN reliance on states to provide police officers and troops suppresses the UN's own interests in favor of the contributing states’ interests. I also identify a carrots and sticks approach to balancing incentives. As Paul Stephan does in his essay for this symposium, I draw on a rational-choice, actor-based theory to identify the mixed motives of the various actors who staff and operate peacekeeping missions. The framework proposed here, I contend, provides a way to better understand the sources of the tension that exist when evaluating reputation as a disciplinary tool for IOs.

scholarly journals Vancouver Principle 6 and the UN Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism: The MRM as a ‘whole-of-mission’ responsibility in UN peacekeeping operations

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Valentina Falco ◽  
Alec Wargo
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Reporting Mechanism

The monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict is at the core of the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) normative and institutional architecture as outlined in twelve United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions since 1999. The child protection mandate in United Nations peacekeeping operations is the key pillar underpinning this architecture.While the role of civilian Child Protection Advisers (CPAs) in identifying and reporting on these violations through the Security Council-mandated Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Children and Armed Conflict (MRM) is by now well established and largely codified, the contribution of uniformed peacekeepers to this critical function has been generally overlooked. However, in recent years, a series of UN and non-UN legal and policy instruments have placed increasing emphasis on the role of the UN Military and Police in the MRM.

Human Rights: An international context and internal developments. A view from Kazakhstan – the future OSCE Chairmanship country (2010)

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yevgeniy Zhovtis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Modern World ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
International Context ◽  
Oil Gas ◽  
Civil Societies

AbstractThis article looks into the situation of human rights activists in Kazakhstan, the challenges they face and the role of international organisations, in particular the OSCE. The article maintains that in the mid-nineties significant change of policy took place and the 'war on terror' put further challenges on human rights defenders and civil societies. In view of the author the advancement of democracy and human rights in the modern world has had four main adversaries: oil, gas, war on terror and geopolitics. These issues increasingly determine decisions taken at all levels, including those related to the ability of the international community to influence the countries where human rights violations happen frequently. Concerning Central Asia, the governments have ratified a number of international treaties on human rights and have joined the United Nations and the OSCE. However, they have failed to meet the majority of their obligations under the ratified international treaties and faced no major consequences for this failure. Internally there is a host of challenges that civil societies face and the author points to a number of frustrations on their part.

Provision of Remedies for Violation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Comparative Study of the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-318
Author(s):  
Roman Girma Teshome
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Regional Monitoring ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
To Receive

The effectiveness of human rights adjudicative procedures partly, if not most importantly, hinges upon the adequacy of the remedies they grant and the implementation of those remedies. This assertion also holds water with regard to the international and regional monitoring bodies established to receive individual complaints related to economic, social and cultural rights (hereinafter ‘ESC rights’ or ‘socio-economic rights’). Remedies can serve two major functions: they are meant, first, to rectify the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage sustained by the particular victim, and second, to resolve systematic problems existing in the state machinery in order to ensure the non-repetition of the act. Hence, the role of remedies is not confined to correcting the past but also shaping the future by providing reforming measures a state has to undertake. The adequacy of remedies awarded by international and regional human rights bodies is also assessed based on these two benchmarks. The present article examines these issues in relation to individual complaint procedures that deal with the violation of ESC rights, with particular reference to the case laws of the three jurisdictions selected for this work, i.e. the United Nations, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems.

UN Peacekeeping Operations and Successful Military Diplomacy: A Case Study of Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bakare Najimdeen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Military Diplomacy

Few years following its creation, the United Nations (UN) with the blessing of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to establish the UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO), as a multilateral mechanism geared at fulfilling the Chapter VII of the UN Charter which empowered the Security Council to enforce measurement to maintain or restore international peace and security. Since its creation, the multilateral mechanism has recorded several successes and failures to its credit. While it is essentially not like traditional diplomacy, peacekeeping operations have evolved over the years and have emerged as a new form of diplomacy. Besides, theoretically underscoring the differences between diplomacy and foreign policy, which often appear as conflated, the paper demonstrates how diplomacy is an expression of foreign policy. Meanwhile, putting in context the change and transformation in global politics, particularly global conflict, the paper argues that traditional diplomacy has ceased to be the preoccupation and exclusive business of the foreign ministry and career diplomats, it now involves foot soldiers who are not necessarily diplomats but act as diplomats in terms of peacekeeping, negotiating between warring parties, carrying their countries’ emblems and representing the latter in resolving global conflict, and increasingly becoming the representation of their countries’ foreign policy objective, hence peacekeeping military diplomacy. The paper uses decades of Pakistan’s peacekeeping missions as a reference point to establish how a nation’s peacekeeping efforts represent and qualifies as military diplomacy. It also presented the lessons and good practices Pakistan can sell to the rest of the world vis-à-vis peacekeeping and lastly how well Pakistan can consolidate its peacekeeping diplomacy.

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