The creation and control of places of protection during United Nations peace operations

O ne means of providing protection to civilians who are being deliberately targeted during armed conflict1 is to create and control places of protection2 either with, or without, the consent of some or all the parties to the conflict.3 In recent years the Security Council has, without the consent of some or all the belligerents, authorized the creation of places of protection to safeguard civilians from the ravages of armed conflict (for example, safe areas in the former Yugoslavia,4 and the humanitarian protected zone in Rwanda5), and to varying extents has mandated United Nations peace operations6 to control them. It is in this context that the Report of the Panel for United Nations Peace Operations (the Brahimi Report)7 states: “The Security Council has ... established, in its resolution 1296 (2000), that the targeting of civilians in armed conflict and the