After almost four decades of abandonment, the institution of trusteeship had a revival on the international agenda as the United Nations assumed responsibility of the war-torn territories of Kosovo and East Timor in 1999. This revival was met with severe criticism for jeopardising the values of order and equality in contemporary international society. The present article argues that this criticism is misleading. The essence of a modern trusteeship is not order or equality but the expansion of freedom. Rather than destabilising international society, it is argued that a trusteeship can be a constructive tool in the re-establishment of freedom, stability and peace in post-conflict territories.