Final Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) - Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects: References to Disciplinary Issues
Summer 2004

The final report of the 2004 session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (29 March -16 April 2004) includes proposals, recommendations and conclusions on disciplinary issues:

I. Personnel issues

1. Discipline

111. The Special Committee affirms the need to ensure that all personnel in United Nations peacekeeping operations functions in a manner that preserves the image, credibility, impartiality and integrity of the United Nations. The Special Committee agrees with the Secretary-General that misconduct, and even perceptions of impropriety have a detrimental effect on the relations of national contingents with the local population and could cause difficulties in fulfilling mandates.

112. The Special Committee also recalls that, at its previous session, it had requested the Secretariat to consult closely with troop and police-contributing countries in order to develop a common understanding and agreed procedures to handle cases, including through legal action, of alleged violations of the code of conduct and, considering the importance of this issue, had requested that the Secretariat convene a meeting with Member States in 2003 to discuss ways and means of meeting the challenges in this area to minimize misconduct. The Special Committee notes that the meeting called for has not been held and requests that it be convened before the 2005 session.

113. Bearing in mind the shared responsibility of the United Nations and troop-contributing countries for their personnel, the Special Committee emphasizes again that cases of alleged misconduct should be handled through cooperation between the troop-contributing countries concerned and mission leadership, including with regard to public information and the need to take action with respect to national laws. The Committee continues to urge the Secretariat to involve the contributing country concerned from the outset in an investigation into any case of alleged misconduct. In that context, the Committee regrets that the Secretariat withholds at its own discretion, certain elements of the outcome of the investigation of cases of misconduct from the troop or police-contributing country whose national is the subject of investigation. The Committee stresses that the Secretariat must make the outcome of the investigation, including all related evidence, available to that country, in order to enable its national authorities to take legal steps.

114. With a view to improving discipline in a preventive manner, the Special Committee encourages Member States contributing formed units to United Nations peacekeeping missions to deploy appropriately trained counsellors with those units wherever practicable on the part of the contributing country concerned.

115. The Special Committee recognizes the need to strengthen the systems of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations for monitoring and reporting all cases of misconduct in peacekeeping operations and for greater accountability and transparency in dealing with such cases. In that regard, the Committee welcomes the Secretary-General’s bulletin dated 9 October 2003 on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13), and the subsequent steps being taken by the Department to ensure that each mission has an active strategy to prevent and respond to the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse as they relate to peacekeeping operations. The Committee takes note of the development by the Department of a web-based training module on the international civil service commission standards of conduct and the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

116. The Special Committee requests that Member States be briefed on the progress of the review that the Department is carrying out on how to improve notification and monitoring of conduct in field missions.

For a compilation of gender references to the report, for more information about the report and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, CLICK HERE.