Observance
by United Nations forces of international humanitarian law
The Secretary-General, for the purpose of setting out fundamental
principles and rules of international humanitarian law applicable
to United Nations forces conducting operations under United Nations
command and control, promulgates the following:
Section 1
Field of application
1.1 The fundamental principles and rules of international humanitarian
law set out in the present bulletin are applicable to United Nations
forces when in situations of armed conflict they are actively
engaged therein as combatants, to the extent and for the duration
of their engagement. They are accordingly applicable in enforcement
actions, or in peacekeeping operations when the use of force is
permitted in self-defence.
1.2 The promulgation of this bulletin does not affect the protected
status of members of peacekeeping operations under the 1994
Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel
or their status as non-combatants, as long as they are entitled
to the protection given to civilians under the international
law of armed conflict.
Section 2
Application of national law
The present provisions do not constitute an exhaustive list of
principles and rules of international humanitarian law binding
upon military personnel, and do not prejudice the application
thereof, nor do they replace the national laws by which military
personnel remain bound throughout the operation.
Section 3
Status-of-forces agreement
In the status-of-forces agreement concluded between the United
Nations and a State in whose territory a United Nations force
is deployed, the United Nations undertakes to ensure that the
force shall conduct its operations with full respect for the principles
and rules of the general conventions applicable to the conduct
of military personnel. The United Nations also undertakes to ensure
that members of the military personnel of the force are fully
acquainted with the principles and rules of those international
instruments. The obligation to respect the said principles and
rules is applicable to United Nations forces even in the absence
of a status-of-forces agreement.
Section 4
Violations of international humanitarian law
In case of violations of international humanitarian law, members
of the military personnel of a United Nations force are subject
to prosecution in their national courts.
Section 5
Protection of the civilian population
5.1 The United Nations force shall make a clear distinction at
all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian
objects and military objectives. Military operations shall be
directed only against combatants and military objectives. Attacks
on civilians or civilian objects are prohibited.
5.2 Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this section,
unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.
5.3 The United Nations force shall take all feasible precautions
to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian
life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian property.
5.4 In its area of operation, the United Nations force shall
avoid, to the extent feasible, locating military objectives
within or near densely populated areas, and take all necessary
precautions to protect the civilian population, individual civilians
and civilian objects against the dangers resulting from military
operations. Military installations and equipment of peacekeeping
operations, as such, shall not be considered military objectives.
5.5 The United Nations force is prohibited from launching operations
of a nature likely to strike military objectives and civilians
in an indiscriminate manner, as well as operations that may
be expected to cause incidental loss of life among the civilian
population or damage to civilian objects that would be excessive
in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
5.6 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against
civilians or civilian objects.
Section 6
Means and methods of combat
6.1 The right of the United Nations force to choose methods and
means of combat is not unlimited.
6.2 The United Nations force shall respect the rules prohibiting
or restricting the use of certain weapons and methods of combat
under the relevant instruments of international humanitarian
law. These include, in particular, the prohibition on the use
of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases and biological methods
of warfare; bullets which explode, expand or flatten easily
in the human body; and certain explosive projectiles. The use
of certain conventional weapons, such as non-detectable fragments,
anti-personnel mines, booby traps and incendiary weapons, is
prohibited.
6.3 The United Nations force is prohibited from employing methods
of warfare which may cause superfluous injury or unnecessary
suffering, or which are intended, or may be expected to cause,
widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.
6.4 The United Nations force is prohibited from using weapons
or methods of combat of a nature to cause unnecessary suffering.
6.5 It is forbidden to order that there shall be no survivors.
6.6 The United Nations force is prohibited from attacking monuments
of art, architecture or history, archaeological sites, works
of art, places of worship and museums and libraries which constitute
the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples. In its area of
operation, the United Nations force shall not use such cultural
property or their immediate surroundings for purposes which
might expose them to destruction or damage. Theft, pillage,
misappropriation and any act of vandalism directed against cultural
property is strictly prohibited.
6.7 The United Nations force is prohibited from attacking, destroying,
removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival
of the civilian population, such as foodstuff, crops, livestock
and drinking-water installations and supplies.
6.8 The United Nations force shall not make installations containing
dangerous forces, namely dams, dikes and nuclear electrical
generating stations, the object of military operations if such
operations may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent
severe losses among the civilian population.
6.9 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against
objects and installations protected under this section.
Section 7
Treatment of civilians and persons hors de combat
7.1 Persons not, or no longer, taking part in military operations,
including civilians, members of armed forces who have laid down
their weapons and persons placed hors de combat by reason of sickness,
wounds or detention, shall, in all circumstances, be treated humanely
and without any adverse distinction based on race, sex, religious
convictions or any other ground. They shall be accorded full respect
for their person, honour and religious and other convictions.
7.2 The following acts against any of the persons mentioned
in section 7.1 are prohibited at any time and in any place:
violence to life or physical integrity; murder as well as cruel
treatment such as torture, mutilation or any form of corporal
punishment; collective punishment; reprisals; the taking of
hostages; rape; enforced prostitution; any form of sexual assault
and humiliation and degrading treatment; enslavement; and pillage.
7.3 Women shall be especially protected against any attack,
in particular against rape, enforced prostitution or any other
form of indecent assault.
7.4 Children shall be the object of special respect and shall
be protected against any form of indecent assault.
Section 8
Treatment of detained persons
The United Nations force shall treat with humanity and respect
for their dignity detained members of the armed forces and other
persons who no longer take part in military operations by reason
of detention. Without prejudice to their legal status, they shall
be treated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Third
Geneva Convention of 1949, as may be applicable to them mutatis
mutandis. In particular:
(a) Their capture and detention shall be notified without delay
to the party on which they depend and to the Central Tracing
Agency of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
in particular in order to inform their families;
(b) They shall be held in secure and safe premises which provide
all possible safeguards of hygiene and health, and shall not
be detained in areas exposed to the dangers of the combat zone;
(c) They shall be entitled to receive food and clothing, hygiene
and medical attention;
(d) They shall under no circumstances be subjected to any form
of torture or ill-treatment;
(e) Women whose liberty has been restricted shall be held in
quarters separated from men's quarters, and shall be under the
immediate supervision of women;
(f) In cases where children who have not attained the age of
sixteen years take a direct part in hostilities and are arrested,
detained or interned by the United Nations force, they shall
continue to benefit from special protection. In particular,
they shall be held in quarters separate from the quarters of
adults, except when accommodated with their families;
(g) ICRC's right to visit prisoners and detained persons shall
be respected and guaranteed.
Section 9
Protection of the wounded, the sick, and medical and relief personnel
9.1 Members of the armed forces and other persons in the power
of the United Nations force who are wounded or sick shall be respected
and protected in all circumstances. They shall be treated humanely
and receive the medical care and attention required by their condition,
without adverse distinction. Only urgent medical reasons will
authorize priority in the order of treatment to be administered.
9.2 Whenever circumstances permit, a suspension of fire shall
be arranged, or other local arrangements made, to permit the
search for and identification of the wounded, the sick and the
dead left on the battlefield and allow for their collection,
removal, exchange and transport.
9.3 The United Nations force shall not attack medical establishments
or mobile medical units. These shall at all times be respected
and protected, unless they are used, outside their humanitarian
functions, to attack or otherwise commit harmful acts against
the United Nations force.
9.4 The United Nations force shall in all circumstances respect
and protect medical personnel exclusively engaged in the search
for, transport or treatment of the wounded or sick, as well
as religious personnel.
9.5 The United Nations force shall respect and protect transports
of wounded and sick or medical equipment in the same way as
mobile medical units.
9.6 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against
the wounded, the sick or the personnel, establishments and equipment
protected under this section.
9.7 The United Nations force shall in all circumstances respect
the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems. These emblems may not
be employed except to indicate or to protect medical units and
medical establishments, personnel and material. Any misuse of
the Red Cross or Red Crescent emblems is prohibited.
9.8 The United Nations force shall respect the right of the
families to know about the fate of their sick, wounded and deceased
relatives. To this end, the force shall facilitate the work
of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency.
9.9 The United Nations force shall facilitate the work of relief
operations which are humanitarian and impartial in character
and conducted without any adverse distinction, and shall respect
personnel, vehicles and premises involved in such operations.
Section 10
Entry into force
The present bulletin shall enter into force on 12 August 1999.
(Signed)
Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General
