UN DPKO

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Fighting peacekeepers applicability of IHL
during UN Peace Operations
Lt Col Ben Klappe, Asser Institute, The Hague, 7
November 2006
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(No Transcript)
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Surge of UN led PKOs
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Contributions 1993 2006 (total)
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SPECTRUM OF OPERATIONS
Belligerent
(Law of Armed Conflict applies)
PeaceEnforcing
Operational Environ- ment
Traditional PK
Observation missions
Benign
Level of Military Effort / Use of Force
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MONUC CHAPTER VII

• .Use all means necessary within its capacity and
  in the areas where its armed forces are deployed

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MONUC mandate SC Res 1565 ( 2004) excerpt

• (1) to deploy and maintain a presence in key
  areas of potential volatility in order to promote
  the re-establishment of confidence, to discourage
  violence, in particular by deterring the use or
  attempted use of force to threaten the political
  process, and to allow UN personnel to operate
  freely, particularly in the Eastern part of the
  DRC, including by the use of cordon and search
  tactics to disrupt the military capability of
  illegal armed groups that continue to use
  violence in those areas
• (2) to ensure the protection of civilians,
  including humanitarian personnel, under imminent
  threat of physical violence, including by the use
  of cordon and search tactics against illegal
  armed groups that continue to use violence in the
  Eastern part of the DRC

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MONUC mandate SC Res 1565 ( 2004) excerpt

• (3) to ensure the protection of UN personnel,
  facilities, installations and equipment
• (4) to ensure the security and freedom of
  movement of its personnel

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MONUC mandate SC Res 1565 ( 2004) excerpt

• (6) to monitor the implementation of the measures
  imposed by SC res 1493 (2003) including by
  inspecting, as it deems necessary and without
  notice, the cargo of aircraft and of any
  transport vehicle using the ports, airfields,
  military bases and border crossings in North and
  South Kivu and in Ituri
• (7) to seize or collect, as appropriate, arms and
  any related materiel whose presence in the
  territory of the DRC violates the measures
  imposed by SC resolution 1493 and dispose of such
  arms and related materiel as appropriate

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MONUC mandate SC Res 1565 ( 2004) excerpt

• in support for the Government of National Unity
  and Transition, to support operations to disarm
  foreign combatants led by the FARDC, including
  through measures such as
• cordon and search operations
• positioning itself, in close cooperation with the
  FARDC, to deter or prevent reprisal attacks by
  foreign elements against the Congolese civilian
  population

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UN Rules of Engagement

• Directives issued by DPKO
• Contain authorisation for as well as limitations
  on use of force during operations

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EXECUTION OF ROE

• The conduct of peacekeeping operations is guided
  by the Purposes of the UN Charter and relevant
  principles of international law.
• ROE provide direction to commanders at all levels
  governing the use of force within the Mission
  Area. They define the degree and the manner in
  which force may be applied and are designed to
  ensure that the application of force is
  controlled and legal.
• Military personnel must comply with the
  international legal principles of
  proportionality, the minimum use of force and the
  requirement to minimise the potential for
  collateral damage.

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Principles

• Use of Minimum Force
• Self defense
• Protect civilians under imminent threat of
  physical violence

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Protection of civilians

• Use of force, up to and including deadly force,
• to protect civilians, including humanitarian
• workers, under imminent threat of physical
• violence is authorized. When and where
  possible, permission to use force should be
  sought from the immediate superior commander.

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The following prohibitions are to be observed
when authorized ROE are being used (1)

• Use of certain weapons and methods of combat
  under the relevant instruments of international
  humanitarian law, including, in particular, the
  prohibition on the use of asphyxiating, poisonous
  or other gases and biological methods of warfare
  
• bullets which explode, expand or flatten easily
  in the human body and certain explosive
  projectiles.
• The use of certain conventional weapons, such as
  non-detectable fragments, anti-personnel mines,
  booby traps and incendiary weapons.

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The following prohibitions are to be observed
when authorized ROE are being used (2)

• Use of weapons or methods of warfare which may
  cause superfluous injury or unnecessary
  suffering, or which are intended, or may be
  expected to cause, widespread, long-term and
  severe damage to the natural environment.
• Use of weapons or methods of combat of a nature
  to cause unnecessary suffering.
• Attacks on monuments of art, architecture or
  history, archaeological sites, works of art,
  places of worship and museums and libraries which
  constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of
  peoples. In its area of operation, the UNPKO
  shall not use such cultural property or their
  immediate surroundings for purposes which might
  expose them to destruction or damage.

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The following prohibitions are to be observed
when authorized ROE are being used (3)

• Theft, pillage, misappropriation and any act of
  vandalism directed against cultural property.
• Use of methods of warfare to attack, destroy,
  remove or render useless objects indispensable to
  the survival of the civilian population, such as
  foodstuff, crops, livestock and drinking water
  installations and supplies.
• Making installations containing dangerous forces,
  namely dams, dikes and nuclear electrical
  generating stations, the object of military
  operations if such operations may cause the
  release of dangerous forces and consequent severe
  losses among the civilian population.

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Hostile act

• An action where the intent is
• to cause death, bodily harm or
• destruction of designated property.

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Hostile intent

• The threat of imminent use of force,
• which is demonstrated through an action
• which appears to be preparatory to a
• hostile act. Only a reasonable belief in the
• hostile intent is required, before the use
• of force is authorized.

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Detainment for security reasons
1st choice
Apprehend Detain
Handover to local authorities
as soon as possible
temporarily

• In custody of peacekeepers
• record key events and information
• transfer to official place of custody
• inform about reasons for detainment and rights
• inform family
• provide access to legal counsel

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SG Bulletin Observance by UN Forces of
international humanitarian law - August 1999

• ApplicabilityThe fundamental principles and
  rules of IHL set out in the bulletin are
  applicable to UN forces when in situations of
  armed conflict they are actively engaged therein
  as combatants, to the extent and for the duration
  of their engagement

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SG Bulletin Observance by UN Forces of
international humanitarian law - August 1999

• Protection of civilian population
• Means and methods of combat
• Treatment of civilians and persons hors de
  combat
• Treatment of detained persons
• Protection of the wounded, the sick and medical
  and relief personnel

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Application of IHL to PSO

• UN usually not a party to the conflict
• If UN engaged as a party UN bound by the rules of
  customary international law
• UN not a party to IHL Conventions
• Participating states when engaged in armed
  conflict are bound by IHL Conventions to which
  they are a party