Edward Elgar Publishing Complicity and the Law of International Organizations: Responsibility for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Violations in UN Peace Operations (Elgar International Law series)

This timely book examines the responsibility of international organizations for complicity in human rights and humanitarian law violations. It comprehensively addresses a lacuna in current scholarship through an analysis of the mandates and modus operandi of UN peace operations, offering workable normative solutions and striking a balance between the UN s duty not to contribute to international law violations and its need to discharge mandated tasks in a highly volatile environment. Building on existing scholarship on State responsibility for aid or assistance, this incisive book is the first to focus on how the complicity of international organizations in human rights and humanitarian law violations can be established. Through a re-examination of classic legal notions such as due diligence and effective control, and their application to the problem of UN responsibility for complicity, Dr. Magdalena Pacholska provides a pertinent analysis of the complex issues surrounding the UN's legal exposure for its activities in the field of peace and security. Legal advisers working for the UN and other international organizations, national Ministries of Defence, and courts with jurisdiction in this area, will find this book's insights both valuable and useful in practice. It will also be of interest to scholars and employees of NGOs with a focus on international humanitarian law and the accountability of international organizations. Review 'This book provides a thorough analysis of some of the important legal questions arising in the day-to-day complex functioning of contemporary peace operations and offers thought-provoking ideas grounded in systemic, in depth study of a variety of legal norms, principles and concepts from various fields of international law. Practitioners will appreciate particularly the comprehensive examination of the International Law Commission's over half a century long work on State and International Organizations responsibility laid before the reader in a forthright yet insightful manner. A must-read for practitioners advising decision makers in states and international organizations.' --Eric Mongelard, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 'This cutting-edge study offers a rigorous analysis of major issues in the law of international organizations' responsibility. It covers a broad range of legal sources, highlights central controversies in this rapidly developing legal field and enriches international legal scholarship.' --Moshe Hirsch, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 'The legal responsibility of UN peacekeeping forces for aiding or not preventing violations of international humanitarian law remains among the most vexing questions in contemporary international law. This new treatise by Dr. Magdalena Pacholska fills a critical gap in legal doctrine and theory on this topic. It offers a comprehensive, meticulous and creative approach to the responsibility of international organizations for complicity in violations occurring during armed conflicts, and lays the ground for holding UN peacekeepers to legal account.' --Yuval Shany, Hebrew University, Israel About the Author Magdalena Pacholska, Legal Adviser to the Polish Armed Forces