United States Outraged at Abuses by U.N. Peacekeepers in DRC
Prepared Remarks of Kim Holmes, Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
Before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, of the International Relations Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
1 March 2005

The United States is "outraged" at the abuses, sexual exploitation and involvement in human trafficking by certain United Nations forces charged with maintaining the peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a senior State Department official told Congress March 1.

Kim Holmes, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, told the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Organizations in the U.S. House of Representatives that more must be done by the United Nations to ensure that these abuses, which have recently come to light, do not happen again.

Holmes was called to Capitol Hill to brief the subcommittee on the latest developments with regard to U.N. peacekeepers as part of the
mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo known as MONUC (U.N. Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo).
While calling the reported abuse reprehensible, he reminded the subcommittee that the vast majority of U.N. peacekeepers carry out their duties honorably under dangerous and difficult conditions. Some of them, such as the nine peacekeepers from Bangladesh who were killed in the Congo on February 24, make the ultimate sacrifice.

The United States strongly supports the United Nations' stated policy of zero tolerance for sexual abuse by peacekeepers and is pressing the organization to make sure this policy is implemented, he said. “We expect full accountability for the abuses that have come to light in the mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (or MONUC) and other U.N. missions,” he added.

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Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Committee, I welcome this opportunity to discuss our efforts to improve United Nations peacekeeping operations, and to end any involvement of UN peacekeepers in sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

We are outraged over the abuses that have come to light. I will go over some of the ways we are pressing the United Nations to deal with this serious matter, but I want to make clear we believe more must be done by the UN to ensure these abuses do not happen again.

Mr. Chairman, it is reprehensible that anyone connected with a UN peacekeeping mission -- the very people the world entrusted to protect civilians from harm -- should prey on the very women and children seeking their help. The few who commit these offenses unjustly impugn the reputation of the tens of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers who carry out their duties honorably under dangerous and difficult conditions. Some of them, such as the nine peacekeepers from Bangladesh who were killed in the Congo on February 24, make the ultimate sacrifice.

The United States does not take these matters lightly. We strongly support the UN's stated policy of zero tolerance for sexual abuse by peacekeepers, and we are pressing the UN to make sure this policy is implemented. We expect full accountability for the abuses that have come to light in the mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (or MONUC) and other UN missions.

Let me speak directly to the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Early in 2004, our mission to the United Nations in New York pressed the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the Congo. We asked DPKO to report its findings to all UN member states. DPKO created an ad hoc "rapid response" investigation team and task force at MONUC headquarters in Kinshasa. Its investigation uncovered stories of sexual exploitation of minors, on a shocking scale, by both civilian and military members of the peacekeeping force.

The news did not sit well with former Secretary Powell, who personally expressed our grave concern to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. When MONUC's mandate came up for renewal last October, we convinced the Security Council to include in Resolution 1565 language requesting the Secretary-General to investigate the allegations, take appropriate action against those involved, and encourage training to ensure full compliance with the U.N. Code of Personal Conduct for Blue Helmets.

In October 2004, I personally visited the Congo mission and heard some of the stories firsthand. Upon my return, I immediately wrote to Mr.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, the U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to urge him to ensure strong disciplinary actions were taken against the abusers. Early this year, Secretary Powell and Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura of Japan wrote to Secretary-General Annan, urging him to take quick action and ensure such sexual exploitation and abuses by UN peacekeepers ends, completely.

Mr. Chairman, the pressure we have asserted over time is having some effect. Last summer, for example, the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) sent a team to investigate the allegations; it has made some recommendations. MONUC itself has implemented strict non-fraternization regulations and a curfew for its military contingent. And DPKO has made the UN Code of Conduct the focus of special training sessions for UN peacekeepers. DPKO should make this training mandatory for all UN peacekeepers. DPKO has established a permanent Personal Conduct Unit in its peacekeeping mission in the Congo to monitor implementation of this Code of Conduct; such units should be a feature of all peacekeeping missions.

Last November, Secretary-General Annan appointed Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein as his special adviser to work with troop-contributing countries to ensure actual compliance in the field and accountability for breaches of the Code of Conduct. Annan also dispatched an investigative team under UN Assistant Secretary-General Angela Kane to investigate serious cases of sexual exploitation by military and civilian peacekeepers. Those investigations should be completed soon. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette has announced that beginning this week, she will begin a series of visits to all UN peacekeeping missions to re-affirm the Secretary-General's zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation.

We expect the UN to provide a full accounting of its disciplinary actions against civilian perpetrators of abuse and of measures troop-contributing countries have taken against members of their military forces.

Some troop-contributing countries have already taken corrective actions. Morocco recently removed two of its unit commanders from the Congo. It announced the prosecution of six military members who had been repatriated at MONUC's request, after the allegations were substantiated.
France has opened judicial proceedings against a civilian MONUC staffer accused of running a pedophile ring, who is currently imprisoned in France.
Through diplomatic channels, we are urging all troop-contributing countries to take appropriate disciplinary actions against repatriated military members who face charges of sexual exploitation, according to their own military judicial procedures.

We also note that UN Assistant Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute is working on recommendations for longer-term changes in UN rules and procedures to give the UN system legal tools to enforce accountability and compliance with the Code of Conduct.

Just last week, the UN General Assembly Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations completed a draft annual report that should include recommendations on strengthening pre-deployment and conducting in-mission training on the zero-tolerance policy and the consequences of misconduct. We expect the report to make clear that acts of sexual abuse or exploitation are intolerable, and that troop contributors have a duty to ensure those responsible for such acts are punished. We also expect the report to recommend mechanisms for penalizing troop contributors that do not comply with the guidelines on enforcement and prosecution, including financial penalties. We understand the Committee has asked the UN Secretariat to identify procedures to implement those penalties. We expect the final Committee report soon.

In September 2004, the Department of State, as part of its broader effort to combat Trafficking in Persons, funded a six-month program to the DPKO to help prepare anti-trafficking guidance for use in training UN peacekeeping staff worldwide. The resource manual was published in December 2004 and is available online on the DPKO website.

Mr. Chairman, these ad hoc responses are steps in the right direction. But many questions remain, such as how to address the problem of the children fathered and left behind by some peacekeepers. Major disparities remain between formal UN policies and some peacekeepers' behavior. Troop rotations have sometimes given perpetrators de facto impunity for their misdeeds. Military commanders have sometimes not cooperated with UN investigators. And violations of the Code of Conduct continued in the Congo even after the OIOS investigation.

The November 2004 UN report on the abuses in the Congo found, and I quote, "zero compliance" [unquote] with the zero tolerance policy. Under Secretary Guehenno said last month that "Some peacekeepers still have not gotten the message.”

This is unacceptable. The United Nations and DPKO must do more to eliminate any tolerance for peacekeepers who abuse civilians. Military commanders of national contingents and civilian administrators must be held accountable for the actions of the personnel they supervise. If discipline is warranted but not enforced, the UN should repatriate the commanders and recommend their national commands take disciplinary action. The results of actions taken against perpetrators of exploitation and abuse should be reported for transparency purposes. Only when UN peacekeepers understand they will not get away with their abuses will this scandal cease.

We urge DPKO to bolster the highest standards of discipline and conduct befitting a UN peacekeeping operation. Training programs for new peacekeeping personnel must make clear that the Code of Personal Conduct for Blue Helmets, the zero-tolerance policy for exploitation and abuse, and international humanitarian law will be fully enforced. This is particularly important as UN peacekeeping missions expand into other post-conflict zones such as Sudan.

Mr. Chairman, standards and training workshops are key steps, and the Security Council members have a role in ensuring these steps are part of every mission. But I believe the United Nations must also create a culture that rejects and penalizes exploitation and abuse at every level of peacekeeping, from senior civilian and military leadership down to the individual peacekeepers. And it must expect the same from troop-contributing countries.

Specifically, we will press the United Nations system to adopt the following measures that would add teeth to their efforts:

-- Require advance training for anyone involved in UN peacekeeping that makes absolutely clear sexual abuse and exploitation will be swiftly investigated and dealt with through appropriate national disciplinary and administrative measures.

-- Require would-be troop-contributing countries to commit, in writing, to providing UN-specific training on sexual abuse and exploitation before troops deploy.

-- Require would-be troop-contributing countries to commit, in writing, to dealing swiftly with allegations of sexual abuse or exploitation through national disciplinary and administrative means, and to report to the UN the final disposition of each case.

-- Require individual unit commanders to be held accountable for the behavior of troops under their command.

-- Establish a roster of people who have been found to have committed sexual abuse or exploitation while serving with the United Nations, and provide a commitment that these persons would be permanently barred from UN service in any capacity in the future.

The United States takes its responsibility with respect to UN peacekeeping missions very seriously. I believe other Security Council members do as well. As we review proposals for new missions and extensions of existing ones, I assure you that we strive to ensure UN peacekeeping personnel are properly trained, equipped and staffed to do what we ask of them. Sexual exploitation of civilians is intolerable, and we will place its prevention and punishment as a top priority in all UN peacekeeping missions.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)