Peacemaking And The Challenges Facing It: A Human Rights Perspective

Abstract

Today, peacekeeping operations are one of the central tools used by the United Nations to maintain international peace and security around the world, but in a context where global peace is severely fragile due to bloody armed conflicts that have left millions of victims, the challenges facing peacekeeping are escalating, and thus Protection of civilians in areas of armed conflict. Over the past years, there has been a shift in the traditional concept of "peacekeeping", from a simple process based on three principles: (neutrality, acceptance of the parties involved, and the use of force only in self-defence), to broader operations with increasing tasks: mediation roles between the parties to the conflict, providing basic services, strengthening the rule of law, managing detention centers, and providing protection for refugee and displaced camps. In other words, today's peacekeeping operations have become “multi-dimensional” as they are called upon not only to maintain peace and security, but to protect civilians, facilitate the political process, assist in the disarmament of ex-combatants, reintegrate them into a more inclusive political process, provide technical support for elections, and promoting human rights and the rule of law.