La France et la force de protection des Nations unies en ex-Yougoslavie : enjeux et leçons d'une opération de maintien de la paix

France and the united nations protection force in former yugoslavia : the stakes and lessons of a peacekeeping operation

• Auteur / Autrice : Thierry Tardy
• Direction : Pascal Boniface
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Droit
• Date : Soutenance en 1997
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 13

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Force de protection des Nations unies (1992-1995)

Guerre dans l'ex-Yougoslavie (1991-1995)

Intervention (droit international)

Résumé

Entre 1992 et 1995, la france a joue un role majeur au sein de la force de protection des nations unies (forpronu) en ex-yougoslavie, la plus importante operation dite de ''maintien de la paix'' creee et mise en place par l'organisation des nations unies. Outre le deploiement de contingents, la france joue un role politique preponderant dans le processus menant a la creation de la forpronu de meme que par les initiatives relatives a la definition et a la mise en oeuvre de son mandat. Par cette implication, la france a souhaite repondre a plusieurs imperatifs de sa politique etrangere. En particulier, sa volonte d'occuper une place de premier plan a l'onu et au sein de l'union europeenne a determine pour une large part sa politique au sein de la forpronu. La necessite de contenir un conflit menacant la stabilite de l'ensemble du continent europeen fut aussi preponderante. Souhaitant s'affirmer le leader de l'operation mise en place par l'onu, la france a revele simultanement son aptitude a contribuer a une operation de securite collective d'envergure et les limites de ses propres capacites a influer sur le cours du conflit. En bosnie-herzegovine en particulier, l'option humanitaire, privilegiee par l'onu et par la france, fut par essence inapte a creer les conditions d'un reglement du conflit, et placa au contraire la forpronu dans une situation d'impasse que les initiatives francaises n'ont pas permis de debloquer. Refusant a la fois l'option militaire pour imposer un reglement politique au belligerants et le retrait de ses contingents, la france choisit avec continuite l'option intermediaire que constituait la forpronu. . .

Between 1992 and 1995, france played a major role within the united nations protection force (unprofor) in former yugoslavia, the most important ''peacekeeping operation'' set up by the united nations. In addition to the deployment of troops, france played an important political role in the process leading to the creation of the unprofor as well as in the definition and the implementation of the mandate. Through this contribution, france wanted to meet several requirements of her foreing policy. Her will to be a great power within the un and within the european union largely determined her policy towards the unprofor. The need to contain a conflict which was a threat to european stability was also of great importance. France tried to become the leader of the operation set up by the un, and simultaneously revealed her abilities to contribute to an important collective security operation and the limits of her influence on the conflict. In bosnia and herzegovina in particular, the humanitarian option, supported by the un and france, was unable to create the conditions for a settlement of the conflict ; on the contrary, the unprofor faced a tricky situation, in which french initiatives proved to be unsuccessful. At the same time, france refused to contemplate military action to enforce a political settlement and the withdrawal of her troops, and always chose the middle option, which was constituted by the unprofor. And if france often managed to carry her point, especially with her european partners, the outcome of the conflict did not come before the american takeover during the summer 1995, which also revealed the limits of the french policy.