00317856

open access

Version of Record

ロンセツ シエラレオネ ナイセン ニオケル ヘイワ イジ カツドウ ノ テンカイ (1)

Peacekeeping; Activities in Sierra Leone (1) : From ECOMOG to UNAMSIL

国際協力論集

9(2)

97-126

神戸大学大学院国際協力研究科

2001-10

2007-05-30

The purpose of this article is to examine the substance of "peacekeeping" activities in the Sierra Leone conflict since the 1991 rebellion by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) ， and in particular to consider the legal nature of the United Nations (UN) Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)， which is one of the UN peacekeeping missions， in the second half of the 1990s， authorized under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This paper will form， therefore， part of the comprehensive study of the combination of the two alleged inconsistent activities: the UN peacekeeping missions， and the activities under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Two separate standpoints will be established， from which these problems will be considered. One is how the UN has been involved in this conflict besides the activities of parties concerned， especially those of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOW AS)， and the other concerns the legal nature of the relationship that has been built up between ECOWAS Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) and UNAMSIL during this conflict. The development of the activities and mandates of ECOMOG has decisively influenced the establishment of UNAMSIL and the enlargement of its mandates， with the result that the UN has made the substantial transition from ECOMOG to UNAMSIL. This issue will be focused on more closely in the second part of this article. The first part， on the other hand， deals with the "peacekeeping" activities of ECOMOG and its relations with the UN before this substantial transition occurs and UNAMSIL deploys in the field. ECOMOG has performed a wide range of tasks: the observation of the parties to ensure the cease-fire agreements; the enforcement of the disarmament and disbandment of the armed groups; the assistance of the protection for the refugees and displaced persons; the enforcement of the embargo toward the whole of Sierra Leone， etc. As for these operations， while some activities have kept the nature of “peacekeeping" exactly according to its traditional meaning， others are rather similar to peace-enforcement， as demonstrated by the fact that ECOMOG has used force ， beyond what can be considered necessary for its own self-defense ， and not authorized under Chapters VII or VIII of the UN Charter， in order to enforce its mandates or to maintain order in the country. Thus， it follows that ECOMOG can be characterized as mixed and bewildering activities; peacekeeping and peace-enforcement or quasi peace-enforcement rather than as peacekeeping proper， and that ECOMOG has exercised the powers given it under its ambiguous conduct principles. For the UN， it has implicitly accepted the expulsion of the junta government by the ECOMOG military operation， and has strongly endorsed the restoration of the democratically elected president and its legitimate government， although it did not make clear the legal basis of this intervention by ECOMOG and had no or little control over ECOMOG's activities. Furthermore， the UN has supported the peace process in the Sierra Leone conflict under the aegis of ECOWAS and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) ， and established a traditional peacekeeping mission， the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL)， to assist the work of ECOMOG. UNOMSIL was expected to complement ECOMOG in some ways， and also to engage in the supervision of ECOMOG's operations， to preserve its own impartiality. The latter task reveals a mild but gradual strengthening of the UN control over the activities of ECOMOG， as well as the intention by the UN of keeping its neutrality and impartiality towards the rebels so that it should escape from their harassments and armed assaults. The safety of UNOMSIL personnel， however， was dependent heavily on ECOMOG， to which the RUF has been hostile on account of the ongoing battles between them. Such a situation easily led the RUF into regarding UNOMSIL as its enemy， as the latter had always cooperated with ECOMOG and acted under its protection. In fact， UNOMSIL personnel were likely to be exposed to attack from the RUF. That would compel the UN to recognize the difficulties faced by UNOMSIL in carrying out its current mandates and the necessity of their reinforcement. This is especially after Nigeria suggested withdrawing its battalion from ECOMOG， which might well result in the latter declining in strength. Thus，the UN attempted to reinforce the mandates of a new UN peacekeeping mission by transforming UNOMSIL into UNAMSIL， but the reality is that the UN has transferred some robust mandates of ECOMOG to UNAMSIL. To be continued

紀要論文