Evolving Roles of the United Nations Agencies on the Implementation Mechanisms of the Rules of International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

The dire need to expand the frontiers of the enforcement mechanism of the rules of international humanitarian law through the Agencies of the United Nations has for ages been of global concern.  Driven primarily by efforts to enforce and promote the rules of international humanitarian law, there is a need to develop measures capable of promoting the rules of international humanitarian law through the agencies of the United Nations (UN). The objective of this paper is to analyze and establish that expanding the frontiers of the enforcement mechanism of the rules of international humanitarian law through the agencies of the UN bordering on individual or state responsibility will further strengthen the low level of enforcement of these rules.  However, this paper noted that there is a significant enforcement gap both at the regional and international levels.  Further, this paper argues that in other to guarantee a high level of enforcement of these rules both at the regional and global levels, a more integrated approach to the role of non-governmental organizations is capable of addressing the enforcement gap of the rules of international humanitarian law.  This paper adopts a diagnostic approach based on a review of literature, which is achieved by the synthesis of ideas. This paper concludes with recommendations among others that in order to boost the purpose for which the rules of international humanitarian law were made the level of enforcement of these rules should be expanded to fill the enforcement gaps at the domestic, regional, and international levels.