Committee: Security Council
Country: The French Republic
Topic: Abuse by Peacekeepers
Delegate: Robert Janes, East Grand Rapids
The UN peacekeepers have been instrumental in keeping peace across the world since 1956, and for the most part have done good jobs in every operation. However, while most of the time the job is done professionally and without any hiccups, there have been instances where peacekeepers abuse their power. Peacekeepers from a variety of nations have been accused of abusing their powers and committing crimes such as sexual assault and exploitation, and there have been many instances when this invovles minors. This gross abuse of power displayed by Peacekeepers is antithesis to the central theme of the UN, and action needs to be taken to prevent future misconduct by peacekeepers, as well as making sure any past actions are reprimanded.
The accountability that most peacekeepers face for their actions while on various operations is very minimal. France itself is aware of the complexity of the international justice system, and has found it difficult to give justice to peacekeepers who are accused of misconduct fairly and in an efficient manner. The lack of accountability peacekeepers face is largely due to any form of oversight during peacekeeper operations. The delegate from France would like to see an increase in oversight on peacekeepers while serving in various countries, which could be implemented through the creation of an oversight committee responsible for holding accused peacekeepers accountable while still on peacekeeping missions. A large reason for the lack of reprimanding of accused peacekeepers is the time in between the end of a mission and the crimes being reported, making investigations hard to carry out. France would like to see a creation of said committee to both help in preventing misconduct by peacekeepers while on missions, and also increasing the ease at which misconduct can be reported and dealt with by the countries in which the peacekeepers reside.
- Robert Janes
