‘Impartial’ Use of Force in United Nations Peacekeeping

This article explains how the idea of ‘impartial’ use of force by peacekeepers, first proposed in the Brahimi Report of 2000, has been translated into practice. It first links the report's definition of impartiality to mandates of post-Brahimi operations to identify what impartiality has come to mean in peacekeeping mandates. It argues specifically that impartiality has encompassed two different components of robust mandate implementation and humanitarian protection and that the former has been prioritized over the latter. It then evaluates these two components in the light of peacekeeping experiences in Sierra Leone and Haiti.