03/01/2006

The following letter was sent to the members of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34) in anticipation of its 2006 meeting. With part of this year’s meeting focusing on how to prevent sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers, Refugees International is offering the following recommendations.

The UN Special Committee was established in 1965 to conduct a comprehensive review of all issues relating to peacekeeping. Its members meet on an annual basis and are made up of one hundred United Nations member states, mostly past or current contributors of peacekeeping personnel.

Dear Ambassador:

Refugees International welcomes the steps taken in the past year by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in cooperation with troop contributing countries to address the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping missions. As Prince Zeid and Under-Secretary Guehenno have noted, it will take many years before the reforms will truly take effect. Nonetheless, RI believes that greater financial commitment and political will to resolve this problem will accelerate the pace of reform.

As you meet on the occasion of the 2006 session of the special committee on peacekeeping operations, Refugees International would like to bring the following recommendations to your attention to inform your deliberations:

Mainstream a gender perspective into all aspects of UN peacekeeping
Mainstreaming gender awareness in all stages of peacekeeping missions is a crucial factor in preventing misconduct. Pre-mission planning, mission implementation, and post-mission follow-up should all involve systematic efforts to build understanding of gender issues. In addition to strengthening the position of gender advisor in UN peacekeeping missions by assuring that they have access to budgetary resources, DPKO should put forward more names of qualified women for senior management positions and hire male gender advisors. Further, the gender advisor position is not a substitute for personnel conduct units, and well-resourced personnel conduct units should not come at the expense of resources for the gender advisor. Each fulfills a separate function. RI also urges DPKO to work with the UN Country Team to ensure that sufficient gender expertise remains in countries like Burundi and Sierra Leone to assist the national government when a peacekeeping mission withdraws.

Push for more pre-deployment training in individual troop-contributing countries
The UN has developed good resources to assist in pre-deployment training, but troop-contributing countries and those that support them must also develop country-specific trainings about sexual exploitation and abuse that are conducted in their own language to all troops. The main troop-contributing countries should work with national women’s groups to mainstream gender into their work. RI also urges DPKO and its partners to conduct research with male peacekeepers to see what messages resonate with them to insure that information campaigns about sexual exploitation and abuse are effective. Trainings and information campaigns must be followed up regularly and the message emphasized.

Insure that regional non-UN peacekeeping missions receive support to fight SEA
While the UN is addressing the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse of vulnerable women by its peacekeeping troops, the problem is not receiving similar attention in the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Since sexual exploitation and abuse of vulnerable women is not limited to UN peacekeeping troops but has plagued militaries around the world, it is imperative that AMIS troops be held to the same standards as those of the UN. When RI visited Darfur in December 2005, it was obvious that AMIS still lacks measures to receive or investigate any complaints about sexual exploitation and abuse. In order to provide support to regional organizations that have shouldered some of the peacekeeping burden, DPKO should also communicate the lessons it has learned on preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Address human trafficking in UN peacekeeping missions
Large number of male peacekeepers in areas with weak or nonexistent law systems will act as a magnet for human trafficking. UN peacekeeping missions should have expert staff assigned to them as they deploy to address the problem of human sex trafficking. In addition, conduct and discipline officers must be trained in how to work with victims of trafficking who often have special needs.

Improve access to the UN complaint system
While there have been some changes in certain countries, RI is still concerned that the bulk of the population who interact with UN peacekeeping missions are unaware of new policies. Public information officers should actively work with women’s groups and other partners to develop programs to reach out to the population and inform them of their rights. While public information materials have been developed for distribution within UN peacekeeping missions, there should be consistent information provided on how to report a suspected incidence of sexual exploitation and abuse. This system should insure the confidentiality of the person making the report.

Insure reintegration remains a priority for female combatants in DDR programs
Refugees International has found that female combatants and dependents of combatants are often more vulnerable than other women. In Liberia, female combatants who did not receive reintegration support returned to cantonment sites to sell themselves to peacekeepers. Donors and designers of DDR programs must pay particular attention to the reintegration needs of former female combatants.

Empower women in local communities
Refugees International urges all members of the C-34 to insure that there is adequate support for victim assistance. Many victims of sexual exploitation and abuse will not come forward. They do not see themselves as victims but are doing what they must to support themselves and their families in a hostile environment. RI reminds all members that bettering the lives of women through focused economic and social development programs will help prevent sexual exploitation and abuse from taking root. Until women in post-conflict countries have the means to move beyond mere survival, sexual exploitation and abuse are inevitable.

If donors are serious about ending sexual exploitation and ensuring the protection of victims of conflict throughout the world, they must give the UN the resources that it needs to fight this problem within the framework of its peacekeeping operations. Every UN peacekeeping mission now has a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to sexual exploitation and abuse, but without the ability to actually implement reform, zero tolerance is meaningless.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,
Kenneth H. Bacon
President
Refugees International