The Space Between Promises and Results: Thoughts on Regulating Use of Force by the Un

Abstract

United Nations forces are today deployed into settings that cover almost all the factual signposts on the spectrum between peace and conflict. In spite of the increased tensions they encounter and ever-expanding mission objectives, the fundamental purposes of UN deployment, namely maintaining international peace and security and advancing human rights, remain unchanged. This was underlined by the March 2018 UN SecretaryGeneral"s Report on Peace building and sustaining peace.1 This paper assesses the importance played by the use of force by United Nations forces in achieving these objectives and argues that existing gaps between mission objectives and results can be reduced or closed by adopting a regulatory framework that is more sensitive to the nature, character and purposes of United Nations deployment. I submit in this regard that human rights law has a greater role to play in the realm of regulation than is acknowledged at present, suggest a conceptual criterion through which this could be achieved and in conclusion, assess the utility of such an approach with reference to practical examples.