Putting a stop to sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers

In 2004, several allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. peacekeepers led then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to ask His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, permanent representative of Jordan and a former civilian peacekeeper, to prepare a report that would detail the extent of these incidences in U.N. peacekeeping missions. This was not the first such report, however. As early as August 1996, a UNICEF report on the impact of conflict on children noted that in six out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children during times of war, the entry of peacekeeping troops into these countries accompanied a “rapid rise in child prostitution.” The Zeid report, which was released nearly a decade after the UNICEF study, detailed the necessary steps to eradicate sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. peacekeeping personnel. The establishment of a Conduct and Discipline Unit at the U.N. headquarters; the adoption of a three-pronged strategy involving prevention, enforcement and remedial action; and the overhaul of the global body’s administrative justice system were the recommendations that the report outlined — and the United Nations subsequently implemented. This month marks the report’s 10th anniversary. The significant decline of sexual exploitation and abuse allegations since 2005 points to the progress that the United Nations has made in preventing these incidents, but as Jenna Stern, a visiting fellow with the Stimson Center’s Future of Peace Operations program, pointed out to Devex, one incident alone is already “a huge problem.” Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse are often underreported because of the stigma attached to the very act of going forward with an accusation. But the increase in the number of peacekeeping personnel over the past 10 years — from 81,199 to 122,984 — coupled with the United Nations’ improved reporting mechanisms, juxtaposed against the decrease in allegations in the same period, could point to the impact that U.N. reforms have had on curbing these incidences, according to Stern. Some allegations, whether made honestly or maliciously, also turn out to be false. Still, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the independent U.N. office responsible for conducting investigations of sexual exploitation and abuse, explicitly states that there will be no disciplinary consequences for those who report an allegation in good faith. A February 2014 report on the activities of the OIOS on peacekeeping operations in 2013 noted the slight drop in the number of sexual exploitation investigations related to peacekeeping missions — from 41 in 2012 to 36 in 2013. Despite these improvements, sexual exploitation and abuse remains “a significant area of concern,” the OIOS report noted. Defining sexual exploitation and abuse Sexual exploitation and abuse, according to the U.N. definition, is any sexual relationship that involves an uneven distribution of power, regardless of the victim’s age. Not every instance of sexual exploitation and abuse, Stern told Devex, is rape. For instance, prostitution, which can be depicted as a consensual act, is included in the prohibition. The U.N. argues that those involved in these transactions — mostly women and children — often have to resort to sex trade for lack of economic opportunities. “The zero-tolerance policy does not prohibit all sexual relations with the local population, but considers most to be unequal and therefore ‘strongly discouraged,’” Stern wrote in her brief, “Reducing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in U.N. Peacekeeping: Ten Years after the Zeid Report.” A lack of understanding of what constitutes sexual exploitation and abuse on the sides of peacekeepers and locals alike, however, is just one of the many factors that contribute to such cases. Raising awareness to prevent more cases Perhaps the most crucial element of the United Nations’ three-pronged strategy to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse within its peacekeeping missions is prevention, which involves training peacekeepers upon arrival in the host country. Stern mentioned in her report that international civilian staff receive predeployment training from the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, while military and police staff receive mandatory predeployment training from the countries that send them. For Carla Ferstman, director of human rights organization Redress, the most effective kind of prevention should happen in troop-contributing countries themselves — before peacekeeping personnel could even leave the country. “TCCs should have stronger vetting procedures to ensure that those coming on mission meet the highest ethical standards,” she told Devex. “The U.N., as well as civil society in the countries concerned, should work more closely with TCCs to ensure these procedures are put in place.” Increasing awareness of actions that could be considered exploitative or abusive and encouraging locals to report such incidents are also important to prevent more cases. In some host countries with missions that have the highest reported levels of sexual exploitation and abuse — Liberia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — the U.N. is turning to creative ways to inform the public about how to report these cases, according to Stern. For instance, in South Sudan, a campaign involving popular local singers gave an overview of different prevention efforts through song. Naming and shaming errant TCCs The U.N. has mere administrative jurisdiction over military personnel, while TCCs are tasked with investigating allegations and prosecuting peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation and abuse — a setup that, according to Stern, the Zeid report found “problematic” because TCCs would not have much incentive to look into these allegations. Stern’s report, however, found that, in recent years, the U.N. Conduct and Discipline Unit’s partnership approach to TCCs has led to better information sharing. In 2013, TCCs’ response rate to sexual exploitation and abuse allegations was above 90 percent — a dramatic uptick from the meager 50 percent response rate in both 2011 and 2012. “I think the U.N. is doing a much better job in pressuring TCCs to take action, and TCCs are responding to these follow-ups better than they were before,” Stern said. “That’s a positive development.” Still, Ferstman noted that the U.N. should ensure that TCCs have the proper laws to pursue these cases. “Legislative frameworks often fall short of being capable of investigating and prosecuting the range of sexual exploitation and abuse crimes beyond rape, and these frameworks often do not allow for prosecutions of persons serving overseas, other than military personnel,” she said. Naming and shaming TCCs that do not follow up on these incidents, she added, would help pressure these countries to take allegations more seriously. ‘More needs to be done’ to help victims Meanwhile, remedial action is similarly fraught with challenges and, for Stern, is “the weakest component of the three-pronged strategy.” A comprehensive strategy to support victims of sexual abuse by U.N. staff and personnel led to the creation of an assistance mechanism for victims, which would enable them to access basic support services. But since the strategy is not backed by an independent funding mechanism, whether or not remedial action succeeds depends on the host country’s “in-country network,” which is made up of mostly nongovernmental organizations that are “coordinated through an in-mission U.N. focal point,” according to Stern. The U.N. does not give financial compensation to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by its peacekeepers, although it does provide medical aid, legal assistance, counseling and social support. Children born as a result of sexual exploitation and abuse are also given the necessary assistance. “I think resources are the most strained when it comes to victim assistance and more needs to be done,” Stern said. While NGOs may have little space to operate in preventing sexual exploitation and abuse — perhaps except in raising awareness among locals — they have a potentially larger role in remedial action, Stern said. One example is the General Inspectorate Project, an initiative by the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership and Save the Children U.K. that aims to enable children and women abused by humanitarian staff to report their cases. Its status today, however, remains unknown. The role of the United States The United States, which is the largest donor to U.N. peacekeeping missions, has a key part in strengthening the framework that will guide future sexual exploitation and abuse investigations. Last year, the United States funded an associate expert position — a role that will focus on tracking and reporting sexual exploitation and abuse allegations — in the CDU. In the U.S. Department of State’s monthly briefings on peacekeeping to congressional committees, the subject of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers is also always brought up, according to Stern. Still, the United States could do more by pressuring TCCs failing to comply with reporting measures through diplomatic channels, Stern said. “The U.S. should play a leading role here, in not blocking support to vulnerable victims, and in using its political clout to impress upon the U.N. the need to show the necessary leadership to address the full gamut of issues, many of which — particularly the hardest and most expensive ones — have thus far received little more than lip service,” Ferstman said. What other steps should the U.N. take to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by its peacekeepers? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Check out more insights and analysis for global development leaders like you, and sign up as an Executive Member to receive the information you need for your organization to thrive.