Committee: Security Council
Topic: Abuse by Peacekeepers
Country: The Republic of Peru
Delegate: William Mathias, Forest Hills Northern
The UN peacekeepers were created for the purpose of protecting citizens, facilitating the establishment of the rule of law, and creating conditions for lasting peace. Despite this intention, over the past thirty years, the UN has received more than 2,000 reports of peacekeepers sexually abusing and exploiting inhabitants of their host country. To make matters worse, the system of criminal justice can be very inefficient. For instance, only 53 peacekeepers have been jailed, while many offenders go off without being properly prosecuted.
The Republic of Peru currently deploys 393 uniformed peacekeepers and has supported UN peacekeeping operations for nearly 70 years, contributing about 8,000 “blue-helmets” throughout its history of involvement. The Republic of Peru has a deep respect for the office of peacekeeper and as such, is offended when this honorable title is disgraced by officers that abuse their authority and are not justifiably prosecuted. To restore honor to the UN peacekeepers, we must reform the criminal proceedings.
When considering what needs to be accomplished at this upcoming conference, it’s important to look at resolutions that the Security Council has already passed. Like many member states, the Republic of Peru voted to pass Resolution 2272 back in 2016 to demonstrate its recognition of the severity of the issue and its support for establishing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers. Although this resolution was a good step forward, this is still a very prevalent problem as reports of abuse haven’t stopped, and many perpetrators still aren’t being properly tried.
The Republic of Peru has nothing but respect for the brave men and women who serve as UN peacekeepers, but the current institutional operations are facilitating and contributing to abuse. It is the duty of the Security Council to take reports of misconduct seriously, provide protection to the most vulnerable people, and restore the people’s trust in the UN peacekeepers, and by extension, the UN as a whole. At this conference, the Republic of Peru looks forward to working with all member states to address this issue by expanding or reforming Resolution 2272 and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for abuse, among other potential solutions.
- William Mathias