UNaccountable: a new approach to peacekeepers and sexual abuse

The appointment of a new United Nations Secretary-General brings new opportunities to address issues that have beset the Organisation over recent decades. A priority in that regard should be accountability for harms caused within peacekeeping. This issue has received significant attention over recent years, with the close scrutiny of cholera in Haiti and lead poisoning in Kosovo being just two examples. While legal scholarship in recent years has focused on how to reform UN accountability, particularly in relation to the Haiti Cholera Claims, there have been fewer proposals on how to address crimes committed by UN peacekeepers. One of the most serious of those crimes, in terms of harms caused both to victims and to legitimacy of UN peacekeeping operations, is sexual abuse. Yet the proposals for addressing that issue largely have not been successful. To that end, this article – which is exploratory in nature – sets out why there is a need for a wholescale reform of how we approach accountability for peacekeepers who perpetrate sexual abuse, explaining particularly how the problems relate to laws and normative frameworks, and to investigations and prosecutions. The article then proposes elements that might be considered in a new victim-centred approach, namely criminal justice; truth and reconciliation; human rights; and political processes

The United Nations Human Rights Council: A critique and early assessment

PhDThe United Nations Human Rights Council was created in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights. The Commission‘s failure had been attributed to its increasing politicisation and decreasing ability to discharge its mandate. Many radical reforms were not taken up at the Council‘s creation. The Council‘s constituent instrument did provide theoretical methods for avoiding the Commission‘s failings, all of which required implementation by states, regional groups and political blocs. Despite efforts at the Council‘s creation, and during early sessions, to avoid selectivity, partiality and bias, the new body has seen little change in the problems that had beset its predecessor. Many of the issues at the new body can be found in other international organisations. Unlike other bodies, however, those failings undermine the Council‘s ability to discharge its mandate. In order to examine the Council, I have used international law alongside general theories of international relations as applied to international organisations. Council sessions, procedures and mechanisms have been examined, and politicisation of the new body has been compared with the Commission‘s failings

Safeguarding in conflict and crisis

Robust, comprehensive safeguarding measures, including those used in crisis- and conflict-affected contexts, need to take appropriate account of local contexts in order to adhere to the highest international standards, including in safeguarding children

Expanding or diluting Human Rights? The proliferation of United Nations Special Procedures mandates

The United Nations Special Procedures system was described by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as “the crown jewel” of the UN Human Rights Machinery. Yet, in recent years, the system has expanded rapidly, driven by states creating new mandates frequently on topics not traditionally viewed as human rights. This article explores the connection between forms of governance and the states voting for and promoting these newer mandates. We explore states’ potential motivations for expanding the system and the impact on international human rights law. This article forms an important part of discussions about Special Procedures and rights proliferation