PEACEKEEPING IN CONFLICT: THE INTERVENTION BRIGADE, MONUSCO, AND THE APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW TO UNITED NATIONS FORCES

摘要

In recent years, a more aggressive form of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping has been developing in response to seemingly intractable conflicts. In March 2013, the Security Council created the Intervention Brigade within the MONUSCO peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Brigade was authorized to offensively engage with rebel combatants and "neutralize" armed groups. This represented a sharp departure from traditional peacekeeping operations with potentially serious implications for the law governing peacekeepers. This Article examines some of the legal implications of these developments. It argues that the lack of clarity in regard to the legal rules that apply make it difficult for peacekeepers to ensure they are fulfilling their legal duties and complicates the availability of certain legal rules that would otherwise protect peacekeepers in conflicts. Until greater clarity in the law is achieved, operations such as the Intervention Brigade must better distinguish themselves from the traditional peacekeeping elements of their deployment. The blurring of the line between peacekeeper and peacemaker could have dangerous implications for the safety of U.N. personnel and should not be embarked upon without due consideration of its full legal ramifications.