The Interfet Detainee Management Unit in East Timor
Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, 2000
Posted: 31 Aug 2006
Abstract
This article discusses the law and order role undertaken by the Detainee Management Unit of the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET). Its focus is the legal regime endorsed by INTERFET to deal with the detainment of persons and the complex issues arising pursuant to that regime. Through an analysis of the structure put into place by INTERFET, from the creation of the Detainee Management Unit to the use of Force Detention Centres, the legal issues which arise, such as the classification and treatment of detainees, are discussed by drawing on examples from the field. The Detainee Management Unit provided INTERFET with a mechanism to ensure that the military imperative - to restore peace and security - was appropriately balanced against the need to ensure that the rights of detainees to natural justice and due process were not abused. The article provides the reader with an example of how international humanitarian law, supplanted where necessary by human rights provisions, provides a military commander with an effective and efficient tool to manage detainees during peace operations.
Keywords: INTERFET, detainee, East Timor, Detainee Management Unit, Force Detention Centre, justice, humanitarian law, human rights, peace operations
JEL Classification: K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation