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In the transitional justice literature, vetting has a prominent place and is the most frequently discussed measure to prevent the recurrence of abuses. This chapter situates vetting in the framework of jus post bellum and argues that vetting can contribute to a variety of distinct aims and hence, appeals simultaneously to various concerns and audiences. The chapter moves to describe the many reasons why vetting processes can fail and have failed, and cautions against a myopic approach to vetting that fails to link vetting to related processes. It concludes arguing that vetting can fulfil the high expectations often placed onto it only if basic rights are respected in the process, if done within a reasonable timeframe and with proportionate resources, and if embedded in a comprehensive prevention strategy.

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operational paragraph 2: [The Security Council] decides to authorize the SecretaryGeneral to take the necessary steps, in consultation with the Government of the Republic of the Congo, to provide the Government with such military assistance as may be necessary until, through the efforts of the Congolese Government with the technical assistance of the United Nations, the national security forces may be able, in the opinion of the Government, to meet fully their tasks. 3 United Nations, UN Peacekeeping Operations. Principles and Guidelines (United Nations: New York, 2008): 21. key installations and vital infrastructure; facilitate the political process; guide and coordinate all the activities of the UN system; and are involved in various peacebuilding tasks that aim, in particular, to build the capacity of the state's security and political institutions. 4 In these complex postconflict contexts, UN police officers are not only mandated to monitor and report but increasingly to support the reform and development of law enforcement institutions. 5 In 2000, the UN Panel on Peace Operations called, among others, for a "doctrinal shift in the use of civilian police in United Nations peace operations, to focus primarily on the reform and restructuring of local police forces in addition to traditional advisory, training and monitoring tasks." 6 In the same year, a separate police division was created in the DPKO. As a result of these changes, mission mandates for UN police components have broadened considerably. Broader UN police mandates and the increase in peace operations in general have led to a significant increase in UN police deployments in recent years. In 1994, 1,677 police officers were deployed in peace operations; in 2000, the number increased to 5,840 UN police officers; and in 2009, over 11,000 UN police officers from more than 100 countries were deployed in 18 peace operations. 7 Nevertheless, the performance of the UN police in supporting postconflict police development continues to be criticized. 8 Criticism is also expressed about European Union (EU) crisis management missions with police components. 9 The identified shortcomings include, among 4 In the context of multidimensional missions, I prefer to use the term "peace operations" rather than "peacekeeping operations" because the broad range of peacebuilding tasks carried out by multidimensional missions exceeds by far the activities that can be reasonably grouped under an umbrella of "peacekeeping.