Lo status dei peacekeepers secondo il diritto internazionale umanitario

This paper deals with the status of UN peacekeepers under international humanitarian law, when the blue helmets are involved in “robust” operations. Such operations use overwhelming force in self-defence and defence of the mandate through preventive and pre-emptive postures, so that the UN may become party to an armed conflict and peacekeepers may turn into combatants. Given these preconditions, this paper analyses the rules to enhance the safety and security of peacekeepers and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. Then, it examines if attacks against peacekeepers may be prosecuted as crimes against peace, regardless of the civilian or combatant status of peacekeepers, since they obstruct or threaten the primary responsibility of the UN Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security.