PEACE OPERATIONS AND THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Interrelatedness of peace and environment manifests itself also in the planning and management of peace operations. This article is an attempt to reflectively address some general considerations relating to peace operations and the protection of the environment from the international law perspective. It provides an illustration of the dichotomy between international legal rules and principles and legal obligations deriving therefrom on the one hand, and legally non-binding policy recommendations on the other. In addition to more recent engagements in peace operations by regional actors, the UN maintain a central role in the area. New developments in various parts of the UN system, including in the area of peace operations, were triggered by the seventh Millennium Development Goal 'to ensure environmental stability'. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support, as members of the UN-wide working group on sustainability management, participate in the official UN campaign to make a more sustainable UN - Greening the Blue Helmets. Among various UN documents dealing with a set of environmental issues, the two departments adopted in 2009 the Environmental Policy for UN Field Missions. The article offers its assessment through the lens of the recent UN report 'Greening the Blue Helmets' and discusses specifically recommended practices and measures. In conclusions it envisages a possible future approach to establish a case-specific legal regime to tackle environmental issues in the life-cycle of peace operations.