Credit: MONUSCO Photos
The United Nations is struggling to appear responsive to allegations of serious sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers, who have been accused in recent years of raping or abusing women and children in a number of countries, where they were deployed to foster security and provide assistance to communities affected by conflict and natural disasters. On March 10, 2016 UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, presented recommendations to the Security Council to strengthen UN accountability, as part of a larger effort to curb sexual exploitation and improve the UN’s response after an independent review panel accused it of “grossly mishandling” allegations of sexual exploitation, particularly sexual abuse of children, in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013 and 2014. See Marie Deschamps, Hassan B. Jallow, & Yasmin Sooka, Taking Action on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Peacekeepers (2015). The recommendations come less than a month after Mr. Ban submitted a report to the UN General Assembly regarding allegations of sexual exploitation by UN personnel during 2015 and the measures being taken in response. [UN News Centre: Security Council; UN News Centre: General Assembly] In recent weeks, the UN Security Council, for the first time, resolved to remove peacekeeping units accused of serious abuses from the countries in which they are serving and the Secretary General appointed a special coordinator to oversee the broader UN response. [BBC; Al Jazeera]
The nationalities of alleged violators have been released for the first time in an effort to encourage Member States to adequately prosecute their citizens who are accused of sexual exploitation during peacekeeping missions. Mr. Ban’s recent report to the General Assembly stated that of the 99 total allegations in 2015, 69 involved peacekeepers serving in 10 country missions, primarily in Africa. See UN Secretary-General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/70/729, 16 February 2016, paras. 6-8. The allegations were predominantly against peacekeepers from African nations but also included peacekeepers from Canada and some European countries. Id. at 9-10 fig.2. The UN does not have criminal jurisdiction to charge peacekeepers and, therefore, relies on Member States to initiate criminal proceedings. [UN News Centre: Security Council; UN News Centre: General Assembly] While the number of peacekeepers accused of these crimes is small compared to the many thousands deployed around the world, sexual abuse has been a persistent problem going back at least 20 years. [IBTimes]
UN Secretary General Report
Mr. Ban’s report provided data on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse for the calendar year of 2015 and made recommendations to the General Assembly. UN Secretary-General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse Report of the Secretary-General. The report identified trends in the geographic location of abuse, the nationalities of the accused personnel, and the category of peacekeepers involved. Id. Over half of the allegations came from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The remaining allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation arose out of several other missions in African nations as well as Haiti, Cyprus, and the now-closed mission in East Timor. Id. at para. 8.
Military troops are accused in more than twice as many incidents as either police or civilian personnel, likely because they represent over 90,000 members of the peacekeepers as compared to 13,550 police and just over 17,000 civilian and volunteer personnel. Id. at 6; United Nations Peacekeeping, Peacekeeping Fact Sheet. However, recent years have shown a marked increase in allegations against police, which for the first time surpassed allegations against the more numerous civilian and volunteer personnel. UN Secretary-General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse Report of the Secretary-General, para. 27. Among uniformed peacekeepers, the accused individuals were mainly from African nations, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) topping the list with seven accusations against its citizens working within the missions. Id. at 9-10 fig.2. Morocco and South Africa followed with four allegations each. Id. Individuals from nine of the top 20 troop-contributing nations have been accused of abuses, but no allegations have been made against the three countries that contribute the most troops to UN peacekeeping missions. See United Nations Peacekeeping, Troop and Police Contributors; UN Secretary-General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse Report of the Secretary-General, 9-10 fig.2.
Mr. Ban commended Member States for improved efficiency in conducting investigations into reported incidents. See UN Secretary-General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse Report of the Secretary-General, para. 33. As of January 31, 2016, Member States had completed investigations into 17 of the 69 allegations and the vast majority of investigations concerning allegations a year or older. Id. Since 2010, more Member States have been conducting independent investigations or investigations in cooperation with the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) rather than relying on the OIOS or mission to investigate. Id. Mr. Ban also highlighted measures the UN took in 2015 to prevent sexual exploitation, including developing pre-deployment training, expanding the vetting process for personnel, enhancing complaint mechanisms for victim accessibility, and increasing investigative efficiency. Id. at paras. 39-56.
Recommendations to the General Assembly and Security Council
The Secretary-General issued a series of recommendations for the General Assembly in conclusion of the report. He called on the Member States to assess their national legal framework to ensure that it had complaint mechanisms and nationality-based criminal jurisdiction, which permit Member States to take appropriate action where sexual abuse has been alleged; to establish a timeline for investigating current allegations; to facilitate future investigations, particularly with regard to paternity tests, by obtaining DNA samples of military and police personnel contributed to the missions; and to contribute to a fund for victims. Id. at para. 99. In response to the recommendations of the independent review panel regarding the investigation into sexual exploitation in the Central African Republic, Mr. Ban requested the heads of offices involved with issues concerning sexual violence to analyze the recommendations and implement them wherever possible. Mr. Ban also appointed a special coordinator to assist him in ensuring effective implementation of the review panel’s recommendations. Id. at paras. 86-87.
Mr. Ban reiterated several recommendations to the Security Council, including the voluntary contribution to funds for victims and the steps national legislators must take to improve investigations, such as providing on site court martial proceedings and collecting DNA samples. [UN News Centre: Security Council] In addition, he underscored the need for UN commitment to monitoring the investigations and enforcing punishments, such as repatriation of troops. [UN News Centre: Security Council] Mr. Ban stated that he would even “consider ending the deployment of uniformed personnel from specific Member States if there is prima facie evidence of widespread or systemic exploitation and abuse.” [UN News Centre: Security Council]
UN Disciplinary Framework
The Conduct and Discipline Unit (CDU) is the primary regulatory unit for global UN peacekeeping missions; it replaced the Conduct and Discipline Team in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in 2007. See UN Conduct and Discipline Unit, Welcome to the Conduct and Discipline Unit. The CDU’s predecessor was established in 2005 as part of reforms aimed at addressing sexual exploitation by peacekeeping forces, which also increased mandatory training of troops, developed a policy of victim assistance, proposed modifications of agreements with troop-contributing countries, and implemented a “zero tolerance” policy regarding sexual exploitation. See UN General Assembly, Fifth Committee, Comprehensive review on a strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations, UN Doc. A/59/840, 8 June 2005. The CDU provides guidance on pre-deployment training; awareness-raising and outreach programs; and preventative measures, such as curfews, mandatory uniforms outside barracks, and non-fraternization policies. It also maintains records on allegations of misconduct and reports to the General Assembly. See United Nations Conduct and Discipline Unit, UN Strategy: Prevention.
When allegations of sexual exploitation arise, the UN conducts administrative investigations through OIOS. In some cases involving serious misconduct, the UN will repatriate peacekeepers or ban them from peacekeeping altogether. Any other sanctions or judicial proceedings against the person are under the sole responsibility of the country of their nationality. The UN requires troop contributing countries to report back on investigations and disciplinary actions. See United Nations Conduct and Discipline Unit, UN Strategy: Enforcement.
Additional Information
For more information on the human rights situation in CAR or women’s rights, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.