Analysis of the Use of Force to Protect Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations = Analysis of the Use of Force to Protect Civilians in UN Peacekeeping Operations

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Traditionally, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations(PKOs) limited the use of force to self-defense. However, a significant shift occurred in 1999 when the UN Security Council authorized the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone(UNAMSIL) to use force for the protection of civilians. Despite this development, the UN's definition of the Protection of Civilian(POC) mandate has faced scrutiny from the international community due to its lack of clarity on when and how to use force to protect civilians in UN PKOs. Therefore, this article aims to explore the potential for UN infantry battalions to engage in POC tasks by employing effective levels of force.
In doing so, UN peacekeepers must understand how to fulfill their protection obligations based on international norms and uphold mission-specific Rules of Engagement(ROE). The use of lethal force by UN peacekeepers in situations involving violence against civilians unrelated to ongoing armed conflicts will be considered legitimate only in the presence of imminent threats and when such force is unavoidable. To appropriately employ force in accordance with international law, UN infantry battalions should conduct POC threat analyses using the 5W1H approach. Additionally, they should perform danger level assessments and risk analyses based on this before resorting to the use of force.
Considering the importance of the POC task, the primary emphasis of the Republic of Korea’s participation in UN PKOs should be the protection of civilians from conflict-related violence and support for UN PKOs’ mission to implement POC mandates. By ensuring that ROK's contingents have the capability to cope with conflict-related violence. the ROK can emerge as a genuine leader among UN peacekeeping contributing countries on the global stage.