Article

Protection of civilians in international humanitarian law and by the use of force under chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations

Keiichiro Okimoto

• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law, Vol. 4, 2008-2011, p. 1-102

English

in recent years, the United Nations (UN) Security Council of the has become increasingly involved in the protection of civilians during armed conflict, including through the use of force as authorized under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Such trend revives the question of whether UN forces can be bound by JHL, and at the same time raises the question of whether they can be actors enforcing Il-IL and whether such actions can have positive and negative consequences. This article begins with the theoretical framework, namely the relationship between jus ad bellum and jus in bello, and the applicability of the latter to UN forces as an actor bound by, and enforcing, IHL. The article then discusses the distinction between the protection of civilians in IHL and the protective regime of the use of force under Chapter VII. The relationship between the two types of protection for civilians and the potentially positive and negative aspects of civilian protection by the use of force under Chapter VII is discussed at the end of the paper.

• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law / University of the Philippines law Center, Institute of international legal studies
• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law [4/2008-2011] / University of the Philippines law Center, Institute of international legal studies