Tackling Criminal Acts in Peacekeeping Operations: The Accountability of Peacekeepers

Abstract

United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations have been increasingly deployed in many crisis contexts. The practice has been established by the UN to ensure peace and protect victims of different types of armed conflict. Unfortunately, during the past ten years, several cases of serious human rights violations committed by peacekeepers against people who should be protected by them have emerged. The UN has gone through a widespread analysis of the issues involved, from the managerial, administrative and legal points of view. The 2005 Zeid Report has provided the basis for further action within the UN system. Since then, several policy and legal measures have been discussed by relevant UN bodies and organs, and some new developments have taken place. This article offers an account and an analysis of the different steps taken within the UN to face difficult cases of misbehaviour, including human rights violations, which may lead to forms of criminal conduct. It takes into consideration the suggestions provided by the Zeid Report and subsequent UN documents. It focuses on legal developments and discusses the main problems in understanding the legal complexity of this phenomenon. The article includes updated documents and proposals that have been discussed and adopted until the most recent reports in 2009.

Cooperation, information, and keeping the peace

“…In many deployments, peacekeepers engage in coercive or exploitative sexual relationships and commit other human rights violations (Machel, 1996; Jennings & Nikolic-Ristanovic, 2009; Beber et al, forthcoming). The possibility that contact with peacekeepers will result in physical abuse or extortion is very real (Odello, 2010). Thus, when deciding whether to cooperate, individuals must assess whether peacekeepers are capable of effectively providing security or relief, whether peacekeeper intentions are benevolent, and whether peacekeepers may abuse them.…”

“…The literature on peacekeeping and counterinsurgency suggests that these negative interactions between military forces and local populations have strong effects on how peacekeepers are perceived and on the subsequent level of cooperation (Machel, 1996; Jennings & Nikolic-Ristanovic, 2009; Odello, 2010; Condra & Shapiro, 2012). Particularly in the context of UN peacekeeping, where forces are expected to be neutral and refrain from abuse, we expect that citizens who witness abuse will cooperate less.…”

Trust, trustworthiness and trust-building in international policing missions

“…Even single acts that violate local expectations can do substantial damage to international trust-building agendas. If international police personnel become involved in corruption or sexual exploitation of local people, as has happened on numerous occasions within some UN missions, this can attract negative publicity and local public resentment (Odello, 2010). Equally, if police fail to restore order promptly after a period of societal conflict, public expectations can be disappointed and result in greater social distance between the international police and local people.…”