Lebanon, three Indonesian soldiers killed. Italia under pressure to change Unifil's rules of engagement

Italy, which has been in command of the mission since last 24 June, with Division General Diodato Abagnara - who holds the position of Head of Mission and Force Commander - has been pressing for some time for the United Nations to move in that direction as soon as possible. The UN mission (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) has been extended until 31 December 2026, leaving 2027 as the year for final dismantling, should there be no news in the coming months, and at present there does not seem to be

Unifil was established by the Security Council in 1978 with resolutions 425 and 426. In 2006, the same Security Council strengthened the mandate of the mission in southern Lebanon entrusting it, among other tasks, with monitoring the cessation of hostilities. Around 8,500 blue helmets from almost 50 countries operate under Unifil.

In the past few days, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking in the Senate during the reply to the general debate on the communications ahead of the EU Council and the crisis in the Middle East, explained that there are "perplexities about Unifil: on the one hand, we believe that in the current context the mission remains important, but you know that the rules of engagement it has had in recent years would not be sufficient to deal with the current crisis.

The debate, he added, must be of this kind: I am more than in favour and I pointed out what I did not agree with about the US initiative with respect to Unifil, but if we wanted to extend the mission we would have to review the rules. But it is an issue on which we have not found much agreement'.

At present, the legal frame of reference for the Unifil mission's rules of engagement is the UN Charter, the Statute of the United Nations adopted on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, which came into force on 24 October 1945.

The mission falls under 'peacekeeping', i.e. operations that are authorised by the Security Council to support countries in transition from conflict to peace. The 'blue helmets', civilian, police and military personnel provided by member states, operate with the consent of the parties, impartiality and limited use of force.

Unifil, on the other hand, does not fall under the umbrella of 'peace enforcing', under which the use of force is authorised. Chapter Six of the UN Charter provides the legal basis for peacekeeping operations; Chapter Seven for 'peace enforcing' operations.

Question: can the blue helmets use force? The answer is that since Unifil operates under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter, peacekeepers are only authorised to do so in very specific and limited situations (defined in paragraph 12 of resolution 1701). In particular, peacekeepers may always use force in self-defence to protect UN personnel, facilities, installations and equipment.

In addition to self-defence, Unifil can also use force, within the limits of its means and capabilities, to achieve certain well-defined objectives to ensure that the operational area of the mission is not used for hostile activities of any kind (mainly in support of and in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces); to resist attempts by coercive means to prevent peacekeepers from carrying out their tasks within the mandate authorised by the Security Council; to protect UN personnel, facilities, installations and equipment; and to ensure the security and freedom of movement of UN personnel and humanitarian workers.

And, without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.

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