Addressing the Role of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) Involved by the UN in Peacekeeping Operations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nebolsina
Keyword(s):  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Security Companies

Rwanda: the Political Failure of the UN Security Council

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 17-39
Author(s):  
Ambassador Colin Keating
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Failure

This article discusses the role of the UN Security Council during the crisis in Rwanda in 1993/94. It focuses on the peacekeeping dimensions of the Council’s involvement. It is a perspective from a practitioner, rather than an academic. It also makes some observations about whether the Rwanda crisis has had an enduring influence on Security Council practice. It does not address the impact on practical aspects of peacekeeping or on the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Responsibility of the United Nations for the Activities of Private Military and Security Companies in Peacekeeping Operations: In Need of a New International Instrument

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-187
Author(s):  
Jessica Pressler
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
World Organization ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Security Companies

This chapter deals with the rising deployment of private military and security companies (pmscs) in peacekeeping operations of the United Nations and the demand for an increased willingness on part of the international organisation to take on responsibility for potential wrongdoings by its contracted personnel. It aims to demonstrate that the un is vested with a legal obligation to ensure that the conduct of private contractors under its command complies with obligations under international law and identifies possibilities to formulate a new regulatory framework in light of the recent Montreux Process and the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations. The chapter further outlines ways for remedial mechanisms for potential victims of pmsc peacekeeper wrongdoings and offers an insight into the general tension between the organization’s immunity and its accountability. While the un’s reliance on pmscs in peacekeeping operations is an efficient mean to secure troops, it must go hand in hand with the compliance of international legal obligations and institutional responsibility so as to ensure its legitimacy and credibility as a world organization mandated to maintain peace and security and to respect human rights.

Buying blue helmets: The role of foreign aid in the construction of UN peacekeeping missions

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Boutton ◽  
Vito D’Orazio
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Do So

While the evolving nature and proliferation of UN peacekeeping operations in the post-Cold War period is well documented, we know less about how personnel are recruited for these missions. Furthermore, recent developments have rendered existing supply-side explanations for troop contributions less convincing. The increasing demand for personnel, along with stagnant UN reimbursement rates and the rising costs of participation that began during the 1990s, mean that it is less attractive than ever for developing countries to offer their own troops to what have become increasingly ambitious operations. Yet, we see a large pool of developing countries continuing to do so. To address this puzzle, we argue that UN member states with strong preferences for establishing peacekeeping missions have begun using foreign aid as an inducement to help potential contributors overcome the collective action problem inherent in multilateral peacekeeping operations. We uncover strong empirical evidence that these ‘pivotal states’ strategically allocate foreign aid to persuade contributing states to boost their contributions, and also to ensure that these missions continue to be staffed and maintained as costs rise, particularly during the post-1999 period. We also find that states are responsive to these financial inducements: foreign aid increases both the likelihood of contributing personnel and the size of a state’s contribution. Theoretically, this article advances the scholarly understanding of international organizations and cooperation by illuminating an informal, extra-organizational strategy by which IOs can facilitate cooperation.

The Role of Peacekeeping Operations in International Criminal Justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 342-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Excessive Force ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
State Consent ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

International justice is inextricably intertwined with peace. However, where the un Security Council has in the past referred situations to the International Criminal Court it has failed to provide follow-up support. Neither Libya nor Sudan have consented to the icc’s jurisdiction, and without its own police force the icc has faced enormous difficulty in conducting investigations and obtaining the accused. Despite being indicted by the icc, the Libyan authorities are refusing to hand over Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, whom they have sentenced to death in a domestic trial, and despite repeated calls for his arrest, Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir is travelling around the world with impunity. This embarrassing deadlock has led to calls for un troops, already present on the ground in both Libya and Sudan, to intervene. This paper highlights the practical difficulties of such cooperation, looking at case studies of successful cooperation between the icc and peacekeeping missions in the drc, Cote D’Ivoire, and Mali, as well as the role of nato in the former Yugoslavia and contrasting these with the situations in Libya and Sudan. Ultimately, this paper suggests that to extend the mandates of the peacekeeping operations present in Libya and Sudan would compromise the missions, erasing impartiality, leading to a withdrawal of State consent, and requiring such excessive force as to constitute a threat to peace.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Legal Framework for Private Military and Security Contractors: Maritime Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-182
Author(s):  
Vijaya Singh Gautam ◽  
Vijay Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Training Techniques ◽  
Security Companies ◽  
Security Contractors

The paper aims to analyse legal lacunas and suggest possible solutions for the acts and wrongdoings of Private Military and Security Companies within the lens of maritime activities. The paper has been divided into three parts. Part I deals with the necessity and role of Private Military and Security Companies in the present times. Part II discusses the legal status of Private Military and Security Companies and ways of ensuring responsibility for their acts. Part III examines the legal framework for the acts of Private Maritime Security Companies. An assessment of the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), state responsibility, applicability of the Montreux document and efforts such as GUARDCON have been discussed to highlight the inadequacy of the laws on Private Maritime Security Companies. There has been an upsurge in the employment of Private Maritime Security Companies since 2008 to cope with a myriad of problems at sea including piracy and robbery. However, an umbrella of rules including employment procedures, agreements, training techniques, responsibility in peacetime as well as in times of conflict and the guidelines of IHL must be restructured or enhanced in order to be made applicable to Private Maritime Security Companies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document