Abstract

Since the beginning of UN peace operations, there has been discussion as to exactly how they should be carried out. Thus far, a just theory of UN peacekeeping operations has not yet been formed, in the way a Theory of Just War for waging war or a theory of police ethics for law enforcement in a peace context had been formed. The article discusses what a justified risk distribution between UN peacekeepers and local civilians should be. One of the points of criticism of UN peacekeeping missions is the lack of protection of the local population in the course of an escalating situation. Familiar examples are the traumas of Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995). Discussing differences between UN peacekeeping missions, warfare, and law enforcement, it appears that peacekeepers have more in common with law enforcers than with combatants during wartime. Through the method of analogy and by applying some typically military ethics principles, the moral status of the UN peacekeepers is analyzed. Finally, a risk distribution analysis between UN peacekeepers and the local population is carried out, by offering a concise overview by philosophers of arguments for and against taking fewer risks by peacekeepers. The analysis reveals important deontological and consequentialist arguments. Taking also into consideration that transferring more risk to the peacekeeping troops alone does not mandatory lead to less exposure to risk of the vulnerable and innocent local civilians, it can be concluded that a more practical, virtuous, responsible risk calculation will be necessary at that point to find the best risk distribution.

Highlights

  • If a person sees another person who needs help, for example somebody who is drowning in a lake, they must help that person

  • The previous analysis shows that the moral status of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers is closer to that of law enforcers than to that of combatants, based on differences shown after comparison, and after applying three principles of military ethics

  • Applied to the case in which there is no reason to think that an equal risk distribution should not be applicable, this means that the protection duty counts as much for the local population as for your own population, and that risks cannot be transferred from the peacekeepers to the civilians [Luban 2011, 42]

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Summary

Introduction

If a person sees another person who needs help, for example somebody who is drowning in a lake, they must help that person. Распределение рисков между миротворцами ООН и гражданским населением: этический анализ Распределение рисков между миротворцами ООН и гражданским населением: этический анализ // Философские науки.

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