495 Júlia Gifra Durall United Nations peacekeeping operations under Chapter VII: Exception or widespread practice ? 3. Final considerations Over the last two decades United Nations peace operations have been one of the mechanisms most frequently used by the Security Council in situations of humanitarian emergency in armed conflicts. In effect, the establishment of operations under a Chapter VII mandate, and with the authorization to use force for the protection of civilians, is becoming increasingly commonplace. Empirical analysis demonstrates that operations under Chapter VII are not isolated or exceptional. They must be considered as constituting a new form of practice by the organization which is still being developed and is characterized by particular features pertaining to each case in terms of authorization and arrangements with regional organizations and coalitions of states, among others. While the practice is extensive, it is still neither uniform or orderly. On the other hand, the states and the organization of the United Nations itself hold contradictory positions with regard to the phenomenon of Chapter VII UN peace operations, given that, generally speaking, they are not opposed to their establishment; however, when it comes to debating and prescribing the concepts and arguing whether it is a case of the use of force in legitimate defense or coercive enforcement, discrepancies tend to come to the fore and point to a lack of consensus. Thus we find ourselves facing a an increasing and developing practice that raises the question of new types of operations, different from those deployed in the period of the cold war and different also in terms of their legal basis and regime. This transformation motivates the need to find a clearer conceptual and regulatory framework than the one we have today. Hence the proposal of this article, consisting in limiting the label peacekeeping operations to those under Chapter VI of the Charter as a preventive measure. A systematic approach according to whether they fall under Chapter VI or VII, seems both fitting and appropriate, as only in this way is it possible to establish the norms applicable in each case. Ultimately it is not a question of proposing a highly ambitious or groundbreaking formula, but a theoretical and legal approach that responds to the action and practice of present-day peace operations.
REVISTA IEEE 2
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