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Report by the Enquiry Commission on the Behaviour of Italian Peace-keeping troops in Somalia*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Natalia Lupi
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Extract

Following the collapse of Somalia into a state of general anarchy after the fall of Siad Barre's regime, the UN Security Council, on 24 April 1992, adopted Resolution 751 with which, under the direction of the Secretary-General, it created the UNOSOM (United Nations Operation in Somalia) mission. The duty of UNOSOM was to supervise both the ceasefire between the fighting factions and the distribution of humanitarian aid.

When the situation worsened, the Security Council adopted Resolution 794 on 3 December 1992 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, authorizing the creation of UNITAF (Unified Task Force) under the command of the United States. UNITAF's mandate was to create a safe environment for humanitarian aid and for reconstruction. With Resolution 814 of 16 March 1993, the Security Council entrusted the UN Secretary-General with the command of operation UNOSOM II, which took over from the international task force directed by the United States and concluded its mandate in 1994.

Type
Current Developments: Canadian and Italian Forces in Somalia
Information
Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law , Volume 1 , December 1998 , pp. 375 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the Authors 1998

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References

1. Following the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to restore peace in Somalia, on 3 March 1992, Interim President Ali Mahdi and General Aidid signed an ‘Agreement on the Implementation of a Cease-fire’. See The United Nations and the Situation in Somalia, Reference Paper (United Nations Department of Information, New York 05 1995) p. 2Google Scholar.

2. On the United Nations operation in Somalia, see The Blue Helmets, A Review of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, 3rd edn. (United Nations Department of Public Information, New York 1996) p. 285 et seqGoogle Scholar.

3. Italian participation in Operations in Somalia was regulated by a number of law-decrees: D.L. [Law-Decree] no. 21 of 1 February 1993, in Gazzetta Ufficiale [Official Journal] no. 25 of 1 February 1993; D.L. no. 56 of 10 March 1993, in G. U. no. 58 of 11 March 1993, later reiterated and converted in Law no. 125 of 22 February 1994, in G.U. no 47 of 26 February 1994; D.L. no. 16 of 11 January 1994, in G.U. no. 8 of 12 January 1994, converted in Law no. 151 of 22 February 1994, in G.U. no. 54 of 7 March 1994; D.L. no. 11 of 17 January 1995, in G.U. no. 13 o f 17 January 1995, later reiterated and converted in Law no. 285 of 13 July 1995, in G.U. no. 167 of 19 July 1995.

4. Panorama, no. 24, 19 June 1997, p. 42.

5. The military judicial authority has normally competence concerning violations foreseen in the Military Penal Codes, which, however, do not automatically limit the competence of the ordinary judicial authority on common crimes although perpetrated by military persons. As a matter of fact, investigations in front of both authorities are still pending.

6. Both Codes were adopted by Royal Decree no. 303 of 20 February 1941 and published in Codici penali militari e norme complementari, edited by Mazzi, , Brunelli, , Milan, , 1995Google Scholar.

7. The president of the commission is Prof. Ettore Gallo, former President of the Italian Constitutional Court.

8. The Decree establishing the Commission did not fix any expiry date for the Commission's mandate, the existence of which is thus subject to the evaluation of the Minister of Defense.

9. On this point, see Marchisio, S., The Use of Force by Peace-keeping Forces for the Implementation of Their Mandate: Recent Cases and New Problems, Italian and German Participation in Peace-keeping: From Dual Approaches to Co-operation (Pisa 1997) pp. 75–84Google Scholar.

10. The Johar Camp was situated North-West of Mogadishu.

11. See Benvenuti, P., ‘The Implementation of International Humanitarian Law in the Framework of United Nations Peace-keeping Operations’, Law in Humanitarian Crises (Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg 1995) Vol. I, pp. 83–120Google Scholar. Also Condorelli, L., La Rosa, A. and, Scherrer, S., Les Nations Unies et le droit international humanitaire, Actes du collogue international à l'occasion du cinquantième anniversaire de l'ONU (Paris, 1995)Google Scholar.