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Germans to the Front? or Le malade imaginaire
II. Military Operations in the UN Context
Four different types of UN operations can be roughly distinguished in which the Bundeswehr could become involved. First, those measures involving the use of armed forces under the command of the Security Council which are envisaged in Chapter VII of the UN Charter but have never thus far been realized.16 Secondly, peace-keeping operations which have generally been accepted as a task of the United Nations despite the lack of an explicit regulation in the Charter.17 However Chapter VI of the UN Charter has been favoured as the legal basis for peace-keeping operations of this kind.18
Thirdly, one possible further scenario for a German participation would be the use of military force based on a mere authorization (with no subsequent supervision) by the Security Council.19 As for now, this scheme of enforcement actions might be the only one that will eventuate as there continues to be no agreements concluded pursuant to Article 43 UN Charter. However, the use of force justified only by Security Council authorization certainly does not fit the ideal programme envisaged by Chapter VII, and has faced serious criticism.20 Finally, most recent developments seem to indicate that peace-keeping operations can now be deployed in the absence of the consent of all parties involved.21
Leaving aside the question as to whether and to what extent the Grundgesetz permits participation in UN military action,22 one should keep in mind that, even if the Grundgesetz excluded the Bundeswehr from all UN initiatives, no violation of international law obligations would occur since UN member states are not obligated to provide their armed forces for UN military operations.23 This is generally recognized for both peace-keeping operations and (in the absence of any agreements pursuant to Article 43 UN Charter)24 the use of military force based on an authorization by the Security Council.25
16 One
will recall that Korean War military operations were not executed
by the Security Council. The latter merely issued a recommendation
that member states should take steps to end the aggression. Cf. UN Doc.
No. S/1511 (27 June 1950) and UN Doc. No. S/1588 (7 July 1950).
17 See the
landmark opinion of the ICJ: `Certain Expenses of the United Nations,
Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter, Advisory Opinion', ICJ Reports
1962, 168.
18 For a
discussion of the possible legal bases, see Bothe, `Friedenserhaltende
Maßnahmen', para. 38ff, in B. Simma (ed.), Charta der Vereinten
Nationen. Kommentar (1991) (English edition forthcoming in
1992).
19 The
prominent example is SC Res. 678 (29 November 1990) which authorized
military actions of the allied forces against Iraq in the Gulf War: `The
Security Council ... Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United
Nations, ... Authorizes Member States ... to use all necessary
means...'.
21 SC Res.
687 para. 5 (observer mission to Iraq and Kuwait) and SC Res. 688 and 689
(protection of the Kurds in Iraq) offer problematic examples for such
borderline cases of peace-keeping which are based somewhere in the
twilight zone between Chapter VI and Chapter VII.
For discussion of these `Chapter VI 1/2 or VI 2/3' operations, see
Heinz, Philipp, Wolfrum, `Zweiter Golfkrieg: Anwendungsfall von Kapitel
VII der UN-Charta', 39 VN (1991) 128.
22 For the
lively political and legal discussion about this question, see inter
alia the following references: Blumenwitz, `Der nach außen
wirkende Einsatz deutscher Streitkräfte nach Staats- und
Völkerrecht', 30 Neue Zeitschrift für Wehrrecht (1988)
133; `Die Einsatzmöglichkeiten deutscher Streitkräfte nach
Staats- und Völkerrecht', Zeitbühne (1991) 22; Brunner,
`Die internationale Verwendung der Bundeswehr', Zeitschrift für
Rechtspolitik (ZRP) (1991) 133; Coridaß, Der Auslandseinsatz
von Bundeswehr und Nationaler Volksarmee (1985); Fleck,
`UN-Friedenstruppen im Brennpunkt, Überlegungen zu einer Beteiligung
der Bundesrepublik Deutschland', Vereinte Nationen (VN) (1974) 161;
Franke, `Streitkräfte der Vereinten Nationen. Entwicklung und
aktuelle Probleme', 18 Archiv des Völkerrechts (AVR) (1979/80)
149; R. Geiger, Grundgesetz und Völkerrecht (1985) 348ff;
Giegerich, `The German Contribution to the Protection of Shipping in the
Persian Gulf: Staying out for Political or Constitutional Reasons?', 49
Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und
Völkerrecht (ZaöRV) (1989) 1, 37ff.; Ipsen, `Commentary on
Art. 87a', in Bonner Kommentar zum Grundgesetz (1969); Klein,
`Rechtsprobleme einer deutschen Beteiligung an der Aufstellung von
Streitkräften der Vereinten Nationen', 34 ZaöRV (1974)
429; Menzel, `Die militärischen Einsätze der Vereinten Nationen
zur Sicherung des Friedens', 15 Jahrbuch für internationales
Recht (1971) 11; Mössner, `Bundeswehr in blauen Helmen', in v.
Münch (ed.), Staatsrecht-Völkerrecht-Europarecht, Festschrift
für Schlochauer (1981) 97; Pechstein, `Der Golfkrieg -
Völkerrechtliche und grundgesetzliche Aspekte', Jura (1991)
461; Riedel, `Bundeswehr mit "blauen Helmen"', Neue
Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) (1989) 639; Scholz, `Deutsche unter
blauen Helmen?', Die Neue Ordnung (2/1991) 130; Tomuschat,
`Commentary on Art. 24', Bonner Kommentar zum Grundgesetz (1985);
Wechmar, `Friedenserhaltende Maßnahmen - eine Herausforderung an die
Bundesrepublik Deutschland', 30 Vereinte Nationen (VN) (1982)
12.
23 See,
e.g., Fisler-Damrosch, supra note 2, at 103.
24 There
is, however, an obligation to enter into negotiations for such agreements,
see Frowein, `Commentary on Art. 43', in B. Simma (ed.), supra note
16, paras. 9f.
25 If one
regards these authorizations as a case of collective self-defence, Art. 51
does not create an obligation to participate in the defence
efforts.
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