30 March 2015
At the first-ever UN Chiefs of Defence Conference, the Secretary-General appealed to senior military officials for more troop contributions from states around the world and for political will and purpose. (more…)
3 September 2014
The European Society of International Law Interest Group on Peace and Security (ESIL IGPS) and the SHARES Project organise a joint symposium entitled ‘The Changing Nature of Peacekeeping: Challenges for Jus ad Bellum, Jus in Bello and Human Rights’, to be held in conjunction with the 10th ESIL Anniversary Conference in Vienna, Austria, on 3 September 2014.
The symposium, entitled ‘The Changing Nature of Peacekeeping: Challenges for Jus ad Bellum, Jus in Bello and Human Rights’, is organised against the background of an ongoing evolution in UN peacekeeping operations, especially in relation with the increasing number of missions for the protection of civilians, the robust use of force mandate given by the UN Security Council to some peacekeeping missions, and the recent creation of ‘offensive’ combat forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Intervention Brigade) and Mali (MINUSMA). The more expansive mandates of peacekeeping forces raise critical questions pertaining to the law applicable to such forces, and the allocation of responsibility in situations where members of peacekeeping forces act in contravention of their international obligations. (more…)
26 November 2013
Citing mounting human rights abuses, sexual violence and other ‘horrors’, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson called on the international community for immediate action to halt the rapidly deteriorating situation in conflict-wracked Central African Republic (CAR). ‘It is critical for the international community and this Council to act now’, Eliasson told the UN Security Council, proposing that a UN peacekeeping mission eventually replace the current African-led International Support Mission in the CAR.
‘We face a profoundly important test of international solidarity and of our responsibility to prevent atrocities (…) The situation requires prompt and decisive action’ he said, also stressing that humanitarian needs are escalating, while funding is woefully short, with a 195 million dollar appeal less than half funded.
He noted that the African Union and the Economic Community of Central Africa States both agree that there is an urgent need for the international community to act, and that a UN peacekeeping operation with a robust mandate will be eventually required.
19 November 2013
A piece in the New York Times draws attention to the risks raised by the decision of the Security Council to authorise the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ‘neutralize armed groups’, contrary to prior passive peacekeeping forces. This brigade is comprised of 3,000 soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi.
It notes that the Congolese government walked out on peace talks with rebels, as a result of such one-sided support from the UN. Additionally, this authorisation could affect peacekeeping operations worldwide, as there are almost 100,000 peacekeepers stationed from the Western Sahara and Haiti, to Cyprus and Kashmir. Humanitarian aid organisations are considered such operations will put their workers at risk because armed groups will no longer distinguish soldiers and those that provide food and shelter to civilians during war. Furthermore, countries which traditionally send many troops to serve as peacekeepers, such as India and Uruguay, feel uneasy about this new direction, as prior peacekeeping posed little risk of casualties. A UN official, speaking anonymously, was concerned about the precedent which would be set by this authorisation and stated that the Security Council was ‘careful to say it was not a precedent, but every time you say that that’s exactly what you’re making.’
Source: New York Times | New U.N. Brigade’s Aggressive Stance in Africa Brings Success, and Risks
18 February 2013
The New York Times reports that there is a likely role for French counterterrorism forces in tracking down militants in Mali, also after the French troops will be replaced by a United Nations peacekeeping force. A State Department official of the United States stated that ‘there’s going to be an ongoing need for a counterterrorism operation in northern Mali, and that probably will always reside in the hands of the French and not in the hands of the United Nations.’
Source: The New York Times | Official Details French Role in Mali