Suchergebnisse

The actual and potential role of private military and security companies (PMSCs) within the European Union's crisis-management operations make it crucial to clarify the legal framework in which their personnel must operate. This is all the more true with respect to their obligations under human rights law (HRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL), in order to prevent possible violations of these legal regimes by private contractors in the context of EU-led civilian and military missions. In principle, HRL and IHL may be binding on private companies acting within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) not only as a matter of international law, but also as a matter of EU law, to the extent that the Union upholds and incorporates the relevant legal standards. The present paper thus aims to verify whether and to what extent HRL and IHL rules and principles have been integrated into the EU's legal order, with a particular focus on the CSDP. In view of that aim, the paper surveys existing and potential sources of obligations under HRL and IHL for the personnel engaged in EU crisis-management operations. Finally, by way of conclusion, it endeavours to assess which of these sources may be binding on PMSCs contracted in the framework of the CSDP, and to identify viable regulatory options in order to ensure more effective compliance by such companies with HRL and IHL.

The monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict is at the core of the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) normative and institutional architecture as outlined in twelve United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions since 1999. The child protection mandate in United Nations peacekeeping operations is the key pillar underpinning this architecture.While the role of civilian Child Protection Advisers (CPAs) in identifying and reporting on these violations through the Security Council-mandated Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Children and Armed Conflict (MRM) is by now well established and largely codified, the contribution of uniformed peacekeepers to this critical function has been generally overlooked. However, in recent years, a series of UN and non-UN legal and policy instruments have placed increasing emphasis on the role of the UN Military and Police in the MRM. ; La surveillance et la communication de l'information sur les violations graves commises à l'encontre d'enfants en situation de conflit armé1 se trouvent au coeur de l'architecture normative et institutionnelle du programme des enfants et des conflits armés, comme le soulignent douze résolutions du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies depuis 1999. Le mandat de protection desenfants dans les opérations de maintien de la paix des Nations Unies est le pilier clé qui sous-tend cette architecture. Si le rôle des conseillers civils pour la protection de l'enfance dans la détection et la communication de ces violations par le biais du mécanisme de surveillance et de communication de l'information (MRM) sur les enfants et les conflits armés mandaté par le Conseil de sécurité est désormais bien établi et largement codifié, la contribution des soldats de la paix en uniforme à cette fonction essentielle a été généralement négligée. Toutefois, ces dernières années, une série d'instruments juridiques et politiques, onusiens et non onusiens, ont mis de plus en plus l'accent sur le rôle des forces militaires et de la police des Nations Unies dans le MRM.