In the period since the end of the Cold War, a steady increase in UN operations in conlifet zones has given rise to the need for the definition of the status of UN peacekeepers. Their very ambiguous position of no combatants and no civilians was paid by many of them with their lives. On one side these forces are normally not equipped and not intended to conduct effective offensive actions, but on the other, they are allowed to use force in self-defense. The crucial issue is whether the laws of war principles like "the privilege of combatants" and "equality of the parties" should apply automatically to them; if and when peacekeepers resort to armed force; or if and when they could remain protected by the status of non-combatants or civilians acting in self-defense. Much depends on whether or not these principles are as jus cogens as are the principles of distinction between combatants and civilians or the principle of respect for human dignity under any circumstances, a view which the author does not support, since the law of internal armed conflicts is permissive.