The United Nations as an Actor Bound by Interuational Humanitarian Law

Abstract

Although for many years the United Nations has been reluctant to formally recognize the applicability of international humanitarian law (IHL) to UN peacekeeping operations, the changing role and nature of UN peacekeeping operations in the early 1990s made this recognition imperative. In discussing the principle and scope of application of IHL to UN forces, the article examines the main arguments in the UN‐ICRC debate; the UN undertaking in the Status of Forces Agreements to observe and respect the spirit and principles of IHL Conventions; the international responsibility of the United Nations for activities of UN forces, and the relationship between the applicability of IHL to UN forces and the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The article argues that IHL applies to UN forces when they are actively engaged in military operations as combatants, but that its applicability is mutatis‐mutandis, taking into consideration the nature and legal status of the United Nations Organ...