Because the attack on the Unifil mission in Lebanon is considered a war crime

Deliberately attacking peacekeeping missions is a war crime.We talk about it with Luigi Daniele, professor of international humanitarian law.

In the days between 12 and 14 October, occurred moment of most serious tension between Israel and the entire international community, represented by the United Nations, after the attacks to the basics Unifil, or the mission operating in the buffer zone of southern Lebanon which sees thousands of Italian soldiers engaged.The multiple attack caused the injuries of five peacekeepers (as those who are part of the United Nations contingent are called due to the color of their helmets and headgear).The motivation with which Tel Aviv he initially justified the attacks is the one according to which the international mission would act as “human shield” for Hezbollah, subsequently argued that the mission he failed to preventing Hezbollah from settling in southern Lebanon until call it useless and ask for their immediate removal from the region.

THE 40 countries who contribute to the mission, including Italy, have issued a communicated joint sentence of the attacks on the mission and called for an investigation into the incidents.This request was also joined by theEuropean Union, albeit with a delay. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called Israel's actions totally unacceptable.

The attacks resolutions of Israel to the peacekeeping mission present in Lebanese territory can be configured, not only as a violation of international law and the resolution by which Unifil was created, but also as a possible war crime.The Secretary General of the United Nations is of this opinion António Guterres.In the press release released on Sunday 13 October, the UN secretary reiterated that Unifil personnel and its premises must never be targets of military attacks.For Guterres, attacks against peacekeepers violate international law, including international humanitarian law, and may constitute a war crime.He is also of this opinion Luigi Daniele, professor of international humanitarian law at the Nottingham Law School of Nottingham Trent University, reached by LifeGate to talk about the topic.

What is Unifil, the UN mission in Lebanon

Unifil (United Nations interim force in Lebanon) is one mission of peacekeeping stationed in the southern regions of Lebanon established with the resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council March 19, 1978, after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. At the time Tel Aviv deployed its troops on the border with the country of cedars, after some members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had entered Israel from Lebanon by sea.

Unifil's objective was, and still is today, that of draw and enforce the border between the two countries which is not yet outlined by an agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv.Over the years it has transformed into one stable presence becoming one of the longest-running United Nations peacekeeping missions aimed at avoiding any escalation between Lebanon and Israel.

In 2006, After a war that lasted 34 days between Hezbollah and Israel, held in Lebanon, on Unifil's mandate has been expanded, also thanks to the mediation of the then Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, to monitor the effective cessation of hostilities and support the Lebanese armed forces deployed throughout southern Lebanon.

Peacekeeping missions and international law

The peacekeeping missions, although not falling within the category enshrined in the United Nations Charter as measures involving the use of force, over the years they have become a practice, in order to maintain international peace through the deployment of blue helmets.There has been over the years an evolution and extension of skills of peacekeeping operations.In some cases, in fact, in addition to maintaining the ceasefire, some operations have extended to the civilian sphere by providing humanitarian assistance, but also to the defense of peace – in this case we talk about operations peace enforcement – also achieved with the use of military force.The operations of peace enforcement through the blue helmets are, in fact, exceptions.And in this case the United Nations prefers delegation to regional organizations, such as NATO or other organizations with military purposes.

The recent attack on Unifil by Israel has reopened a topic already debated in 2018, when several members of the mission Monusco in the Democratic Republic of Congo they were killed from the attack of some militias.Even at the time it was the Security Council that the general secretary they had condemned the attacks resolved against the United Nations peacekeeping forces, reiterating that may constitute war crimes according to international law.As Daniele recalls, “it is not the first time that a country has attacked missions peacekeeping, in many cases they were countries torn by internal conflicts and not all of them went unpunished.The most important international criminal tribunals of the 1990s were founded precisely on the conflict in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

The difference, in this case, is that to attack the mission stations and the blue helmets was not a militia, but a member country of the United Nations.After the deployment of tanks around the mission positions, the Israeli army opened fire, as stated by the spokesperson of the mission, the Italian Andrea Tenenti:“Israeli soldiers deliberately fired at the mission's perimeter surveillance cameras in Naqoura, disabling them.Furthermore, the army attacked another UN position, damaging lighting systems and a transmission station used for communications."

It is unacceptable that crimes continue to be committed and that there is a part of public opinion and the press that tries to find justification for their commission.

Luigi Daniele, professor of international humanitarian law

To aggravate the charges there are statements from Unifil reporting the wounding of some peacekeepers who suffered abrasions on the skin and gastrointestinal poisoning, despite wearing gas masks, following the attack on the Ramyah post on Sunday 13 October.This type of wound suggests the possibility of the use of chemical weapons. It would be the first time a country's army attacks an international mission with chemical weapons.“If it were confirmed, a double war crime would occur:not only the attack against an illegal and protected target, but also an attack with a weapon whose use is prohibited in areas where there are civilians and which can be used in a limited way, under international law, only to illuminate fields open battle areas, in which there is an exclusive presence of military forces and this is not the case" reiterates Daniele.

Possible war crimes against Unifil

There are several experts and observers who support the position for which attacking a peacekeeping mission is a war crime.In addition to the aforementioned Guterres, too Human Rights Watch in his latest report supports this thesis, finding legal basis in Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.

To the point iii of the second paragraph of article 8 of the Statute we read that United Nations personnel involved in peacekeeping operations, even if armed, should be considered civil they attacks against them and their structures they are illegal and amount to war crimes.Daniele holds the same view and highlights that "the war crime in question punishes the attack on missions peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance missions, and we have been witnessing this type of attack for a year, and the United Nations has been fired on for a year.Don't forget that theUnrwa, hit several times by the Israeli army, is also a United Nations agency.”

Again according to Daniele, “the International Criminal Court it should and will most likely investigate this episode too, as long as the judges begin to respond to the prosecutor's requests.The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has been requesting arrest warrants for five months and for five months the judges of the First Pre-Trial Chamber have authorized legal briefing of both States and groups, but not the Palestinian victims, and they still fail to authorize these mandates, an omission which is pushing many jurists to speak of a real scandal.To date, it is not known why there is this incredible delay, despite the repetition of probable war crimes, and therefore the lack of arrest warrants almost as an encouragement to commit them.The International Criminal Court e its legitimacy is truly hanging by a thread.”

The United Nations and several countries, including Italy, have reiterated that the mission Unifil will continue to operate in southern Lebanon, despite threats and attacks from Tel Aviv.In the hearing in the Senate on Thursday 17 October, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto he reiterated that Israeli attacks on the mission of peacekeeping "they are not accidents, but very serious violations of international law" and made clear the need to strengthen the mission.The Government's intention is toorganization of a conference in Italy to "make concrete support for the Lebanese armed forces in financial, training and equipment terms", demonstrating that, despite the different political colour, Rome intends to move in continuity with the choices of 2006.