UNSC II: Peacekeeper Enforcement

Letter from the Dais

My dearest delegates,

Congratulations on being selected to participate in the (irrefutably) best committee at YMUN Taiwan! It is my privilege to welcome you all to the most challenging, most influential, but above all, most rewarding committee of the conference. My name is Alina Glaubitz, and it is an honor to be serving as your Director for YMUNT V!

Please allow me to introduce myself to you. I am half German, half Russian by nationality and I currently live in the Netherlands. By circumstance, I speak 6 languages: English (of course), Russian, German, Dutch, as well as some Spanish and French. If we have any languages in common, let me know! A seasoned traveller, I visited Taiwan two years ago with my mother and became absolutely enchanted. I am beyond excited to be returning to this country. As an aspiring lawyer, I am interested in researching human rights abuses, particularly sexual and gender-based crimes (if this is a subject that intrigues you, please do approach me!), and volunteering at a local legal clinic. Aside from my professional interests, I love to ice-skate, dance (whenever, wherever), and eat gargantuan amounts of mango. From my travels in Taiwan, I have also grown particularly fond of bubble tea. All in all, please do approach me and talk to me before, during and after the conference. I not only want to serve as your Director, but I also want to be your friend.

As representatives of the nations that make up the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and observer states, it is your responsibility to direct and ultimately dictate global policy decisions in order to safeguard “international peace and security.” By working collaboratively with the P5 member states that hold veto-power (the United Kingdom, France, the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation), you decide whether to authorize peacekeeping operations, international sanctions or military actions. The UNSC alone has the power to create binding resolutions which all Member States of the United Nations are obligated to implement, a responsibility you should not take lightly. Peacekeeping operations being the primary means of the UNSC to assist in the resolution of crises, I look forward to our constructive debate on the zero-tolerance policy of UN Peacekeepers and the Myanmar genocide. I am certain you will come up with crucial policy solutions to these critical issues. You are, effectively, the leaders of tomorrow.

I hope that you embrace the competitive nature of debating the global issues that plaster the news, and the argumentativeness of representing a viewpoint that may not align with your own and, above all, defending it. I hope you transform this conference into a platform for researching, sharing, investigating, critically analyzing, and debating information that keeps you and us, as a community, eager to solve issues of global importance. I ask you to grasp the importance of the topics debated and develop a profound passion for either sharing this knowledge with others, or contributing your individual talents towards eradicating this issue “in the real world.” As your Director, I hope to facilitate fruitful (if not fiery) debate, complemented by an unforgettable intellectual adventure.

It is my privilege to welcome you, once again, to the UN Security Council of YMUNT V, and I look forward to meeting all of you in March. I encourage you to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns (or just wish to introduce yourself!). I am always available to you at ymunt.delegations@yira.org.

I wish you all the best with your preparations!

Yours sincerely,

Alina Glaubitz

A UN peacekeeping operation is comprised of police forces sent by member states to the United Nations to a conflict (or post-conflict) zone in order to manage, mediate and resolve a war between or within states.[1] These operations are (almost always) conducted with the consent of the parties to the conflict and in support of a ceasefire or other peace measures.[2] Peacekeepers are therefore often unarmed or minimally armed and use force as a last resort.

The United Nations is the world’s principal peacekeeping body, yet there is no explicit UN Charter article that addresses peacekeeping. Rather, “principles of peacekeeping have emerged from reflections on practice.”[3] The UN’s Capstone Doctrine (2008) is an unofficial document that attempts to codify three key principles to peacekeeping operations:[4]

1. Consent of the parties

2. Impartiality

3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate

At least two of the three principles are violated in cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping forces.

In October of 2003, the Secretary-General of the United Nations released a bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13). The bulletin outlines the standards of conduct expected from UN personnel and emphasizes its zero tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.[5] Under the bulletin, UN peacekeeping forces are prohibited from committing acts of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, and have a particular duty to protect women and children.[6]

The causes of sexual harassment, violence or rape committed by peacekeeping troops can stem from the fact that peacekeepers are transported into an impoverished zone of conflict. In this pressure-packed environment, alcohol, drugs, and opportunistic sex can serve as stress relievers, particularly when UN staff possess sought-after currencies such as the US dollar.[7] Rape is often considered a byproduct of war, and its prosecution is not prioritized in the context of a chaotic war or post-conflict society. The UN also has no right to conduct background checks on the personnel a country contributes to a mission and, above all, foreign troops often have immunity agreements.[8]

Sexual abuse committed by peacekeepers is not, however, only non-consensual and forceful in nature (as in sexual harassment, assault and rape). In poverty stricken conflict zones, a teenager may be tempted into sexual relations by the promise of a bottle of water, a bar of soap or a sandwich, let alone the promise of marriage, safety or security.[9] In reality, young girls become pregnant or ill due to sexually transmitted infections while the soldiers disappear. Victims of sexual violence, however, are not always female, but often also male.

To make matters worse, authorities deny, complicate, or promise investigations that ultimately lead nowhere.[10] Anger is directed at whistleblowers rather than perpetrators, and denials cloud the truth.

Year after year, UN Secretary Generals and Security Council member states have responded with outrage. It is now time for the Security Council of YMUN Taiwan to put this anger into action and address this problem to safeguard the boys, girls, men and women of conflict zones.

Peacekeeper: member of a national or multinational police force serving in a peacekeeping operation.

Peacekeeping operation: a police force helping countries torn by conflict create conditions for lasting peace and security.

Sexual exploitation: an abuse of vulnerability, power, or trust, for sexual purposes.

Sexual abuse: the actual or threatened act of sexual nature, by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Zero-tolerance policy: absolute prohibition of sexual exploitation or abuse committed by UN staff or peacekeepers. This includes acts of paid sex (e.g. with money, food, or other products) and exploitative relationships (often with persons under the age of 18). In addition, peacekeepers usually have non-fraternization policies forbidding relationships with the receivers of assistance (e.g. local civilians).

“UN peacekeeping emerged during the Cold War as a pragmatic, ad hoc response to conflicts between states where the warring parties were willing to accept the deployment of a neutral third party to help keep the peace and to prevent the resumption of fighting while diplomacy could be pursued to resolve the conflict.”[11]

The UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) was the first UN peacekeeping operation, launched in 1948 to monitor the ceasefire agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors following the Israeli war of independence earlier that year.[12] To date, it remains an active operation.

UN peacekeeping forces were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 and peacekeeping was institutionalized within the United Nations with the establishment of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in 1992.

As peacekeeping operations increased in numbers, the mandated tasks that UN peacekeepers were expected to perform did too: “from observing, monitoring, and supervising ceasefires, peacekeeping operations [are now] required additionally to support the delivery of humanitarian aid; protect civilian populations; assist with the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former armed combatants; supervise and assist with the organization of elections; assist in the restructuring and reform of armed forces and police; promote respect for human rights and investigate alleged human rights violations; help to facilitate the repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons; and strengthen the rule of law, including assistance with judicial reform; among other tasks”.[13]

By 2010, 100,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the United Nations, a very significant increase in comparison to 14,000 peacekeepers in 1998.[14] The UN is not, however, the only organization with the authority to deploy peacekeepers. The African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), NATO, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have also conducted their own peacekeeping operations. These were undertaken not only due to the high demand of United Nations peacekeeping missions but also in order to strengthen the management of security challenges in their respective regions.[15]

Since the 1990s, UN peacekeepers have been accused of rape, sexual assault, paedophilia and human trafficking. When the UN first started deploying peacekeepers in 1948, it didn't consider the rights of women and children in the militarized environments of peacekeeping operations.[16] “As a result of this exclusion, crimes committed against [women] would go largely unrecorded.”[17] In the UN study The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (1996), former first lady of Mozambique, Graça Machel, documented: “In 6 out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children in situations of armed conflict prepared for the present report, the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been associated with a rapid rise in child prostitution.”[18] Oftentimes, rape is disguised as prostitution, with peacekeepers paying girls and boys (usually $1-$3 per encounter, or with food or toys) in order to imply consent. In the past, peacekeepers found in violation of the zero-tolerance policy “were just moved out of their mission, deployed elsewhere or sent home,” according to Paul Higate, a lecturer at the University of Bristol.[19]

As the United Nations does not have its own police force, it is fully dependent on peacekeepers to enforce its mandate. While peacekeeping operations have created enormous burden on the UN and the ethical policies of peacekeeper conduct remain questionable, they have also been crucial to the organization’s mission of maintaining international peace and security.

K. M. Jennings’s report, Protecting Whom? Approaches to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Operations[20], identifies 3 key problems with the zero-tolerance policy:

1. Implementation of the policy is uneven across missions.

2. Enforcement difficulties undermine the policy.

3. Local context (i.e. the mission mandate and country setting).

“The issues with the UN is that peacekeeping operations unfortunately seem to be doing the same thing that other militaries do,” states Gita Sahgal, head of Amnesty International's gender unit, and that is to profit from the vulnerability the conflict zone. “Even the guardians have to be guarded”—even peacekeepers have to be kept in check [21]. An Associated Press investigation in 2017 revealed that more than 100 UN peacekeepers ran a child sex ring in Haiti over a 10-year period. None of the perpetrators were ever investigated, prosecuted or jailed.[22] The report stated that over the past 12 years there have been almost 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and other UN personnel around the world.[23] Canadian government documents reports in 2016 suggest that the United Nations has “glaring gaps” in its procedures for tracking and prosecuting peacekeepers accused of exploitation and sexual abuse, and that only a small fraction of cases are reported.[24]

According to research conducted by Michael J. Jordan, the following acts were committed by UN peacekeepers during recent operations:[25]

A prostitution ring in Bosnia involved peacekeepers, with Canadian peacekeepers accused of beatings, rape, and sexually abusing a handicapped girl.

Local UN staff in West Africa reportedly withheld aid, such as bags of flour, from refugees in exchange for sexual favors.

Jordanian peacekeepers in East Timor were accused of rape.

Italian peacekeepers in Somalia and Bulgarian peacekeepers in Cambodia were accused of sexual abuses.

Moroccan and Uruguayan peacekeepers in Congo were accused of luring teenage girls into their camp with offers of food for sex. The girls then fed the banana and cake remuneration to their infants, whom media reported had been born as a result of multiple rapes by militiamen.

Ismini Palla, deputy chief of public affairs at the UN Departments of Peacekeeping and Field Support stated that: “The UN notifies the concerned member state on every allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse within days of the receipt of the allegation and makes the information concurrently publicly available on the conduct and discipline unit website”.[26] Peacekeepers who breach the zero-tolerance policy can be dismissed from UN service and may be subject to prosecution in their home country or a military tribunal for criminal acts.[27]

Below is a flowchart describing the procedure for cases of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UN peacekeepers:[28]

The problem is that the enforcement of the UN’s zero-tolerance policy is legally challenging. The UN has the authority to enforce its policies on UN employees, but the status of peacekeepers is unclear, as they are technically under the jurisdiction of their own national government and military commanders.[29]

United Nations

Peacekeepers

Local communities

General public/media

1992 – First officially recorded allegations of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers.

1998 January – Ten Rules: Code of Personal Conduct for Blue Helmets established.

2003 October – Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SBG/2003/13) published.

2004 January – Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein named Adviser on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeeping Personnel.

2007 December – General Assembly adopted Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance and Support to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and resolution on Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on missions.

2014 July – Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Risk Management Framework created.

2015 April – Community based mechanisms for reporting misconduct established.

2015 September – Secretary-General meets with countries contributing troops and police forces to peacekeeping missions to discuss sexual exploitation and abuse.

2016 February – Secretary-General appointed Jane Holl Lute as Special Coordinator on improving the United Nations response to sexual exploitation and abuse.

2016 March – The Security Council adopted resolution 2272 (2016) addressing sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers deployed under Security Council mandates, and Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse established.

2016 June – The Report of the Secretary-General on combating sexual exploitation and abuse (A/71/97) provides an update on the progress made in the implementation of measures and initiatives.

2016 September – The United Nations launches an online e-learning training program on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.

2017 January – Secretary-General António Guterres appoints a task force to improve the United Nations’ approach to responding to sexual exploitation and abuse.[30]

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reaffirmed: “The United Nations, and I personally, are profoundly committed to a zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation or abuse by our own personnel. This means zero complacency. When we receive credible allegations, we ensure that they are looked into fully. It means zero impunity.”[31]

The key to past failed attempts to resolving this problem is the conflict between “[p]rotecting the local population from sexual exploitation and abuse or protecting the UN’s image from disrepute.”[32] The previous timeline provides a good overview of the action the UN has taken in order to address sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers. This includes “personnel conduct officers” (monitoring the ethics of peacekeeper behaviour) and “gender advisers” to its Department of Peacekeeping Operations (providing analyses of gender dynamics in conflict zones) .[33] Community outreach activities are also educating the public about sexual abuse and exploitation prevention and where to safely report abuses.[34] However, very little emphasis has been given to male victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, especially considering the social stigma discouraging male victims from coming forward. The UN’s Victim Assistance Strategy currently lacks an independent focal point and funding mechanism, although it has a lot of potential to provide medical, legal and psychological care to victims by collaborating with community-based organizations.[35]

There has been an overall downward trend of incidents, which may indicate the success of UN reforms and initiatives. Nevertheless, as long as instances of sexual exploitation and abuse continue to occur, there is more work to be done. Current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, further reiterates: “Let us declare in one voice: We will not tolerate anyone committing or condoning sexual exploitation and abuse. We will not let anyone cover up these crimes with the UN flag [...] Let us make zero tolerance a reality.”[36]

Sexual abuse by its peacekeepers as the UN’s “worst kept secret.”[37] Despite the UN’s efforts to establish numerous advisors, committees and resolutions to address its zero-tolerance policy, it is unclear how all these bodies will cooperate. Ideally, all parties need to work together to reach beyond a zero-tolerance policy and achieve a zero-case situation.[38] In achieve this, delegates should consider:

How can communication, cooperation, and information sharing be improved between offices and entities within the UN?

Should there be an international legal framework to hold peacekeepers accountable for their actions, or should all Troop Contributing Countr[ies] (TCC) provide their own legal frameworks for their forces?

Do new peacekeeping operation guidelines need to be created in order to address the roles of peacekeeper sending countries, the role of the host country for the mission and role of the United Nations?

How can the mandatory training on conduct and discipline for all peacekeeping personnel be improved?

How could outreach be done to communities and partnerships with civil society and agencies, funds and programs be forged?

What should the policy be on adult relationships between peacekeepers and the receivers of aid?

How can investigations into misconduct investigations be strengthened?

“We may not let protectors become predators.”—Head of UN Field Support

http://wps.unwomen.org/resources/briefs/Sexual.pdf

https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/Policy-Brief-Sexual-Abuse-Feb-2015-WEB_0.pdf

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents/capstone_eng.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfMKMCYFgPo

http://www.refworld.org/docid/56e915484.html

http://peacekeeping.un.org/en/standards-of-conduct

https://conduct.unmissions.org/

https://conduct.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/a_71_818_1.pdf

ENDNOTES

[1] Richard Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement," The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination, last modified 2017, https://pesd.princeton.edu/?q=node/259.

[2] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[3] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[4] United Nations, "United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Principles and Guidelines," United Nations, last modified 2008, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents/capstone_eng.pdf.

[5] United Nations, "Information Sheet Sexual Exploitation and Abuse," United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, last modified 2016, https://unficyp.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/2016_sea_awareness_campaign_for_unficyp_website.pdf.

[6] Secretary-General, "Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse," United Nations, last modified October 9, 2003, https://conduct.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/keydoc4.pdf.

[7] Michael J. Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces," The Christian Science Monitor, last modified November 26, 2004, https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1126/p06s02-wogi.html.

[8] Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces".

[9] Sanam N. Anderlini, "UN Peacekeepers' Sexual Assault Problem," Foreign Affairs, last modified July 25, 2017, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2017-06-09/un-peacekeepers-sexual-assault-problem.

[10] Anderlini, "UN Peacekeepers' Sexual Assault Problem".

[11] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[12] United Nations, "Background," United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, last modified June 12, 2017, https://untso.unmissions.org/background.

[13] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[14] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[15] Caplan, "Peacekeeping / Peace Enforcement".

[16] Azad Essa, "Why Do Some UN Peacekeepers Rape?," Al Jazeera, last modified 30, 2017, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/peacekeepers-rape-170730075455216.html.

[17] Essa, "Why Do Some UN Peacekeepers Rape?".

[18] Graça Machel, The Impact of War on Children: A Review of Progress Since the 1996 United Nations Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (New York: Palgrave, 2001).

[19] Essa, "Why Do Some UN Peacekeepers Rape?".

[20] K. Jennings, "Protecting Whom? Approaches to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Operations," GSDRC, last modified 2008, http://www.gsdrc.org/document-library/protecting-whom-approaches-to-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-in-un-peacekeeping-operations/.

[21] Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces".

[22] Paisley Dodds, "UN Peacekeepers Forced Children into Sex Ring in Haiti," The Independent, last modified April 14, 2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/un-haiti-peacekeepers-child-sex-ring-sri-lankan-underage-girls-boys-teenage-a7681966.html.

[23] Dodds, "UN Peacekeepers Forced Children into Sex Ring in Haiti".

[24] Revolvy, "Child Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers," Revolvy, last modified 2018, https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Child%20sexual%20abuse%20by%20UN%20peacekeepers&item_type=topic.

[25] Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces".

[26] Essa, "Why Do Some UN Peacekeepers Rape?".

[27] Jennings, "Protecting Whom?”.

[28] United Nations, "Standards of Conduct," United Nations Peacekeeping, last modified 2017, http://peacekeeping.un.org/en/standards-of-conduct.

[29] Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces".

[30] United Nations, "Timeline on Conduct and Discipline," Conduct in UN Field Missions, last modified January 2017, https://conduct.unmissions.org/timeline.

[31] United Nations Peacekeeping, "UNMIK Launches the United Nations Zero Tolerance Policy Towards Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse," UNMIK, last modified November 29, 2016, https://unmik.unmissions.org/unmik-launches-united-nations%E2%80%99-%E2%80%9Czero-tolerance%E2%80%9D-policy-towards-sexual-exploitation-and-sexual-abuse.

[32] Jennings, "Protecting Whom?”.

[33] Jordan, "Sex Charges Haunt UN Forces".

[34] Jenna Stern, "Reducing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping," Stimson Center, last modified February 2015, https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/Policy-Brief-Sexual-Abuse-Feb-2015-WEB_0.pdf.

[35] Stern, "Reducing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping".

[36] United Nations, "Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse," United Nations, last modified 2018, https://www.un.org/preventing-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse/.

[37] Essa, "Why Do Some UN Peacekeepers Rape?".

[38] United Nations, "General Assembly Adopts Resolution Committing to Zero-Tolerance Policy on Sexual Exploitation Throughout United Nations System," General Assembly, last modified March 10, 2017, https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11894.doc.htm.

[39] United Nations, "Standards of Conduct".

[40] Jennings, "Protecting Whom?”.

[41] Jennings, "Protecting Whom?”.

[42] Stern, "Reducing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping".