This book has sought to answer the question of what the legal parameters are for the use of force in UN (mandated) peace operations tasked by the UN Security Council to protect civilians.

Following a series of humanitarian crises and dramatic failures of the international community to prevent mass atrocities from occurring, in 1999, the UN Security Council began adopting mandates in which it explicitly authorised UN (mandated) peace operations to ‘use all necessary means to protect civilians against the (imminent) threat of physical violence’ (by using exactly these terms or by using similar terms). Over the years, adopting PoC mandates has proven to be a ubiquitous tool eagerly used by the UN Security Council when implementing initiatives to maintain or restore international peace and security – seeking to draw particular attention to the protection of civilians. However, practice shows that many questions remain about the legality of using force within such operations. At its roots is a deep gap between international legal scholarship on the one hand and military doctrine and practice on the other. Academics are concerned with the strict legal rules as set forth by customary and conventional law, as well as general principles of law. Practitioners are concerned with the mission-specific PoC mandates and the strategic, operational, and tactical instruments that implement such a mandate.