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BRUCE OSWALD - PhD Student Profile
Abstract of PhD Thesis
'The Application of International Law to United Nations and Regional Peace Operations', (expected completion date: October 2007)
My PhD examines the legal regulation of the use of force by peacekeepers serving on UN peacekeeping operations that are commanded and controlled by the United Nations (UN). Within this framework, the PhD will focus on some key legal issues governing the use of force UN peacekeepers generally and by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel serving as UN peacekeepers specifically. I will use the ADF deployments in Rwanda (UNAMIR) and East Timor (UNTAET) as case studies to explore some key legal issues governing the use of force by ADF peacekeepers. In relation to the use of force, the central question I will seek to answer is whether a UN peacekeeper has an 'inherent right of self-defence'.
I use the term 'use of force' to describe the use of non-lethal and lethal force by individual peacekeepers who are serving on UN operations. UN peacekeepers have been authorised to use force in self-defence since the United Nations Emergency Force was authorised by the UN General Assembly to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Egypt in 1956. Since that operation the UN has developed an extended definition of self-defence, which depending on the operation, authorises UN forces to (1) defend themselves, members of their units, any other military or civilian persons they are authorised to defend; (2) protect property; and (3) defend the mandate.
I use the term 'peacekeeping operations' to refer to those operations where the UN Security Council has authorised the creation of military forces to conduct operations where the use of force is authorised in self-defence. The purpose of these operations range from observer missions where the UN force may be lightly armed to enforcement operations where force is authorised to ensure that parties to the conflict comply with the mandate. Generally the UN refers to such forces as those serving under its command and control. I will not address the use of force by UN forces where they are mandated to take the initiative through the use of combat action in order to restore international peace and security (eg UN forces in Korea 1950). Nor will I examine the use of force on peace operations that have been authorised by the UN but are not commanded or controlled by the UN (eg International Force East Timor).
The research has three specific objectives: (1) examine the historical and legal development of the use of force by UN peacekeepers; (2) examine the law applicable to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who are serving on UN peacekeeping operations; and (3) to examine the practice of the ADF in relation to the use of force on UN peace operations and to put thus practice in the context of international and Australian municipal law. The PhD will therefore involve a general inquiry into the historical and law governing the use of force by UN peacekeepers and a specific inquiry into the policy and law governing the use of force by ADF personnel serving as UN peacekeepers.
My research is primarily concerned with examining the legal basis for the use of force by UN peacekeepers. I will conduct this examination by studying the application of law and policy to UN peacekeeping forces. As a part of this examination I will study the application of international and municipal law to ADF personnel who are deployed on UN peace operations where they are considered to be serving under UN command and control. The examination of international law will require an analysis of whether the use of force by UN peacekeepers is governed by principles of international law. The examination of municipal law will focus on host nation and Australian law applicable to ADF personnel deployed on UN operations. Having examined the legal basis for the use of force, the central question I will seek to answer is whether the use of force in self-defence is an inherent right. In many of the examples describing where the use of force has been used by peacekeepers there is little or no legal analysis as to whether the peacekeepers actions have been lawful.
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Contact details:
law-apcml@unimelb.edu.au
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