Human Security and International Peace Missions

The practice of international peace missions has become a very challenging area of research. They were initially established within the United Nations (UN) system, under the inherent powers provided by the UN Charter to maintain and restore international peace and security. They were called peace-keeping operations, originally without a clear legal mandate, in particular with no clear rules that would govern their activities in the territory where they were deployed. The practice of sending multinational contingents of troops under an international organisations’ mandate has slowly developed over the past fifty years. Not only the UN but other international (regional) organisations have been involved in conflict prevention and conflict solution in different areas of the world. Despite the well-established international practice in this field, there are several legal issues that deserve the proper attention of international legal scholars. One issue concerns the legal basis and justification of sending military troops in a foreign country, without being accused of infringing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that particular state. Another relevant issue concerns the law applicable to the troops and other personnel (police and civilian) when sent to foreign territories.