School of Law

Course Name - course code

International Peace Operations – Semester 1 – LW 469(Copy Sept2014)

Irish Centre for Human Rights

School of Law

Academic year 2014-15

LL.M. in International Peace Operations, Humanitarian Law and Conflict

Other LL.M. programmes at Irish Centre for Human Rights

Course Outline

Objective / Aim: the aim of this course is to critically analyze the principles of peacekeeping and apply these to a number of contemporary and past missions.
Lecturers / Name / Office / Ext / E-mail
Prof. Ray Murphy
Dr Roisin Burke / Irish Centre for Human Rights, Room 103
Room 204 ICHR / 3081 /
Times / Semester / Day / Time / Venue
Seminars / Friday (Occasionally there may be seminars on Saturday) / 2 to 5 pm / Conference Room, Irish Centre for Human Rights
Overall Learning Outcomes / Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
·  Discuss and evaluate the principles of peace support operations;
·  Explain the difference between traditional peacekeeping, peace enforcement; enforcement action under the UN Carter, and peace support operations;
·  Critically analyze and discuss a number of contemporary and past peace operations;
·  Explain the legal basis and framework of peace support operation;
·  Critically discuss the political constraints on peace support operations;
·  Examine the role of regional organizations such as NATO and the EU in peace support operations;
·  Compare and contrast peace support operations around the world;
·  Critically evaluate civilian-military relations on peace support missions.
Format / The course comprises a combination of seminars as well as guest lectures and the possibility of a field trip.
This is a one semester mandatory course for students taking the LL.M. in peace support operations. It is a one semester optional course for students taking other LL.M. programmes. Students are expected to read material in advance, and to engage in debate and discussion of the relevant issues during seminars.
Programme(s) / LL.M. programmes, full-time and part-time
Course Material / A course web is available at http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie
Additional resources available at media services
Core Text / General reading:
Annual Review of Global Peace Operations for the years 2006 to the present.. Published by Center on International Cooperation, NYU/Lynne Rienner, Boulder Colorado, USA.
Oxfam, Protection of Civilians in 2010- Facts, figures and the UN Security Council Response, May 2011 – www.oxfam.org
Alain Doss, Great Expectations: UN Peacekeeping, Civilian Protection and the Use of Force, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, GSPC Geneva Papers – Research Series No. 4, December 2011. http://reliefweb.int/node/484430#.T404Fqt1ibk.email
Koskenniemi, M. The Politics of International Law, (Hart, 2011).
Tonkin, H. State Control over Private Military Security Companies in Armed Conflict, Cambridge: CUP (2011).
Ratner, S.R., The New UN Peacekeeping, London: Macmillan, London, 1995.
Berdal, M.R., Whither UN Peacekeeping, Adelphi Paper 281, October 1993.
Bowett D. W., United Nations Forces, London: Stevens, 1964.
Claude, I.L., Swords into Plowshares, (3rd ed), London: University of London Press, 1964.
Gutman, R., and Reif, D., (eds.), Crimes of War (2nd. Ed.), New York: Norton and Co. (2007).
Meredith, M., The State of Africa – a history of fifty years of independence, London: Free Press, 2005.
International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), The Responsibility to Protect, Vols I and II, International Development Research Centre, 2001.
Murphy, R. UN Peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo: Legal and Operational Issues in Context, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
O Neill, T. /Rees, N., United Nations Peacekeeping in the Post-Cold War Era, (London: Routledge, 2005).
Simma, Bruno (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations – A Commentary(1st or 2nd. Edition), Chapter VI on Pacific Settlement of Disputes and Chapter VII on Action with respect to Threats to the Peace, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
White, N.D., Keeping the peace-The United Nations and the maintenance of international peace and security, (2 ed.), Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997.
White, N. and Klassen, K.(eds), The UN, human rights and post-conflict situations, (Manchester University Press, 2005).
C. Lekha Sriram, O. Martin-Ortega and J. Herman, War, Conflict and Human Rights, Routledge (2010).
Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, The Sphere Project, Geneva Switzerland – see www.sphereproject.org/

Wills, S., Protecting Civilians – The Obligations of Peacekeepers, Oxford: OUP, (2009).

Adebajo, A. UN Peacekeeping in Africa, Lynne Rinner, 2012.

An Introduction to International Relations, 2nd Ed, R Devetak, A Burke, J George (eds), (Cambridge: CUP 2012)

Burke, Rosin. Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Military Contingents: Moving beyond the Current Status Quo and Responsibility under International Law, Brill/Nijhoff, (2014).
Weiss, Thomas G. and Daws, Sam, The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations, Oxford University Press, 2007
R Wolfrum (ed), Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Oxford University Press, (2012) available electronically through NUI Galway library.

United Nations Reports

Check UN website for Secretary General’s reports to the Security Council and Security Council resolutions and mandates.
United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Principles and Guidelines, UN, Dept of Peacekeeping Operations/Dept of Field Support, New York, 2008 (‘Capstone Document’) (available on line).
Handbook on United Nations Multidimensional Peacekeeping Operations, UN 2003.
Comprehensive report on strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to manage and sustain peace operation- Report of the Secretary-General, A/61/858 13 April 2007.
E. Eide, A. Kaspersen, R. Kent, K von Hippel, Report on Integrated Missions – Independent Study for the Expanded UN ECHA Core Group, May 2005
In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all – Report of the Secretary General, UN Document A/59/2005, 21 March 2005.
Ban Ki-moon, ‘Implementing the Responsibility to Protect: Report of the Secretary-General’, A/63/677, 12 January 2009.
A more secure world: our shared responsibility’, Report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, UN Document A/59/565, 2 December 2004
Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Observance by UN forces of international humanitarian law, UN Document ST/SGB/1993/3 of 6 August 1999, 1 June 1994.
Report of the Commission of Inquiry established pursuant to Resolution 885 (1993) to investigate attacks on UNOSOM II personnel, UN Document S/1994/653.
Report of the Secretary-General on Administrative and Budgetry Aspects of the Financing of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, UN Document A/51/389.
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementations of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, UN Document A/56/732, 21 December 2001.
A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, 3rd ed., New York: United Nations, 1996.
United Nations, Managing Arms in Peace Processes: Somalia, New York: United Nations Institute Disarmament Research, 1995.
United Nations, Report of the Panel on UN Peacekeeping Operations (Brahimi Report), UN, A/55/305-S/2000/809, 23 August 2000.
Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution 53/35 - The fall of Srebrenica, General Assembly A/54/549,15 November 1999.
Report of the Independent Inquiry into the action of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Security Council S/1999/1257, 16 December 1999.
United Nations, The United Nations and Somalia 1992-1996, The United Nations Blue Book Series, Vol. VIII, New York: United Nations, 1996.
United Nations, Secretary-General’s Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, S/1999/957 of 8 September 1999.
Report of the Military Staff Committee, General Principles Governing the Organisation of the Armed Forces Made Available to the Security Council by Member Nations of the UN, UN Security Council Official Reports Supp. (no.1), UN Document. S/336, 1947.
Minimum Humanitarian Standards, Report of the Secretary-General, Doc.E/CN.4/1998/8, 5 January 1998.
Peacekeeping Best Practices – Best Practices Unit, Department of Peacekeeping Operations
S. Chesterman, ‘The Use of Force in UN Peace Operations’, 2004.
Handbook on United Nations Multi-dimensional Peacekeeping Operations, 2003.
Supplementary Texts / Reading: Relevant articles from International Peacekeeping (Frank Cass) and Journal of International Peacekeeping (Martinus Nihof- formerly Yearbook of International Peacekeeping (Kluwer).
Websites:
UN Peacekeeping Best Practices Unit - www.peacekeepingbestpractices.unlb.org
http://www.whatsinblue.org/ - Insights into what is going on in the UN Security Council
U.N. Wire is sponsored by the United Nations Foundation
(www.unfoundation.org) and its sister organization, the Better World Fund
(www.betterworldfund.org), which are dedicated to supporting UN efforts on behalf of the environment, population stabilization and
children's health.
Reports from International Crisis Group (IGC) – website: (www.crisisweb.org)
And www.rand.org & www.reliefweb.int
http://www.cic.nyu.edu/ - Centre on International Cooperation (CIC) at NYU
:http://hsrgroup.org/ - Human Security Monitor
www.providingforpeacekeeping.org. There you can find the thematic papers, the individual country profiles, the list of experts, as well as a complete database of all TCC/PCC contributions since 1990 Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations - http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/ctte/CTTEE.htm
Reports http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/ctte/spcmt_rep.htm
EU External Action Service – Conflict Prevention - http://eeas.europa.eu/cfsp/conflict_prevention/index_en.htm
Peace Operations Monitor – civilian monitoring of complex peace operations – www.pom.peacebuild.ca/
www.unitedinpeacekeeping.org – US based website on peacekeeping
Uppsala Conflict Data Programme – http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/UCDP/
UN-INSTRAW launched its new resource on Gender Training for Peacekeepers in 2007. The interactive resource aims to facilitate gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping operations. It presents an overview of pre-deployment and in-mission gender training provided to peacekeeping personnel and includes information and resources for institutions interested in incorporating gender issues onto their training agenda.
Visit the web resource at http://www.un-instraw.org/jdata/en/gender-training-for-peace-keepers.html.
www.conflictmonitors.org -The Conflict Monitors provide concise and current information on peace and security issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Dag Hammarskjold Library of the United Nations has launched a new web
blog (web log), UN Pulse, an alert to just-released UN online information,
major reports, publications and documents. UN Pulse at
http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/lib/dhlrefweblog.nsf is accessible from the
Library's web page as well.
Human security reports from the Human Security Centre www.humansecuritybrief.info
And www.humansecurityreport.info
Response to natural disasters – see www.sphereproject.org/
CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, The Do No Harm Handbook
(The Framework for Analyzing the Impact of Assistance on Conflict)
A Product of the Do No Harm Project (Local Capacities for Peace Project)
(revised 2004) - http://www.cdainc.com/dnh/docs/DoNoHarmHandbook.pdf
Arms controls web sites
ICRC: http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/weapons/small-arms-availability/index.jsp
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: http://www.sipri.org/
UN Office of Disarmament Affairs: http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/ArmsTradeTreaty/
UNIDIR: http://unidir.org/html/en/home.html
Geneva Academy of IHL/HR Bloghttp://armstradetreaty.blogspot.com/
Control arms campaign: http://www.controlarms.org/home
Assessment / Assignments and dissertation - Assessment/examination will by based on a written assignment of between eight and nine thousand words. Assignments must be handed in at the same time as other LLM assignments in December 2014.

Other Information:

·  This course outline is available on blackboard.

The following is a list of topics that it is planned to cover during the semester. This is provisional. These may change and may not be dealt with in the sequence outlined.

·  Seminar 1 (10 Sept). Introduction to the LL.M. in International Peace Support Operations and general discussion on the course requirements and related topics. Definition of terms and concepts. Prescribed reading. The written assignment and writing of a thesis – Dr. Murphy.

Historical background and introduction to principles of peacekeeping with reference to UNEF 1.

·  Seminar 2 (19 Sept). Dr. Murphy Political and legal framework for peace operations. The UN Charter, command and control, authorized and approved UN operations. Use of force under international law. The role of regional organizations - NATO and the EU.

Required reading:

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Principles and Guidelines, UN, Dept of Peacekeeping Operations/Dept of Field Support, New York, 2008 (available on line).

Alain Doss, Great Expectations: UN Peacekeeping, Civilian Protection and the Use of Force, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, GSPC Geneva Papers – Research Series No. 4, December 2011. http://reliefweb.int/node/484430#.T404Fqt1ibk.email

Oxfam, Protection of Civilians in 2010- Facts, figures and the UN Security Council Response, May 2011 – www.oxfam.org

UN Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and its Working Group

2009 substantive session (23 February-20 March 2009) General Assembly Official Records Sixty-third Session Supplement No. 19 (available on line)

Special Research Report, Security Council Action Under Chapter VII: Myths and Realities, 23 June 2008 (available on line – www.securitycouncilreport.org)

O Neill, T. /Rees, N., United Nations Peacekeeping in the Post-Cold War Era, (London: Routledge, 2005).

White, N.D., Keeping the peace-The United Nations and the maintenance of international peace and security, (2 ed.), Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. Part 1, ‘The Security Council’, pp. 3-32; Chapter 3, ‘Powers, practices and effectiveness of the Security Council’, pp. 80-139 and Chapter 9, ‘Peacekeeping in Practice’, pp. 248-284.

General reading:

The Blue Helmets – A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, (3 rd. ed., New York: United Nations).

Bruno Simma (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations – A Commentary(1st or 2nd. Edition), Chapter VI on Pacific Settlement of Disputes, (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

James, A., Peacekeeping in International Politics, London: Macmillan, 1990.

·  Seminar 3 (26 Sept) Accountability for Sexual abuse and exploitation by UN Peacekeepers – Dr Burke

Readings:

Prince Zeid's report on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers

Burke, Roisin, ‘Status of Forces Deployed on UN Peacekeeping Operations: Jurisdictional Immunity’, 16(1) Journal of Conflict and Security Law (2011) 63-104

Murphy, Ray, ‘An Assessment of UN Efforts to Address Sexual

Misconduct by Peacekeeping Personnel’ (2006) 13(4) International

Peacekeeping 531

UN Secretary-General's 2003 Bulletin on Special Measures for the

Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Kanetake, Machiko, ‘Whose Zero Toleranance Counts? Reassessing a Zero Tolerance Policy against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN

Peacekeepers’, 17(2) International Peacekeeping (2010)

Quénivet, Noëlle, ‘The Role of the International Criminal Court in the

Prosecution of Peacekeepers for Sexual Offences’, in Roberta Arnold

(ed), Law Enforcement within the Framework of Peace Support Operations (Martinus Nijhoff, 2008) 399

Burke, Roisin, ‘UN Military Peacekeeper Complicity in Sexual Abuse: The ICC or a Tri-hybrid Court’, in Morten Bergsmo (ed) Thematic Prosecution of International Sex Crimes (Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, 2012) 317-407

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 - http://www.un.org/events/res_1325e.pdf