Topic: 2025 – Criminal Accountability of UN Officials
Country: Japan
Delegate Name: Liem Krueger
Legal
Criminal Accountability of UN Officials
Japan
Liem Krueger
Forest Hills Eastern
For over 75 years, UN officials have been working in other countries, with the first peacekeeping mission happening in 1948. When operating in other countries, UN officials are given “functional immunity,” which protects them from legal implications that result from their actions. Although the Secretary General can waive an official’s immunity to facilitate justice, there have still been numerous reports of misconduct committed by UN officials. Most notably, there have been widespread reports of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers and staff on missions in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. Due the UN rarely waiving immunity and nation states of these officials being reluctant to prosecute them upon return, most of these individuals often faced no criminal accountability. As a result of these widespread reports, the UN General Assembly passed the resolution A/RES/62/63 in 2007, which encourages member states to prosecute UN officials for misconduct on missions. Furthermore, the resolution established various internal accountability measures, namely having the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) refer cases to the perpetrators country for prosecution. To this day, A/RES/62/63 is still in effect, with various resolutions being made over the years.
Japan supports holding UN officials accountable for crimes and calls for clearer and more uniform processes in regards to waiving immunity to UN officials. Being the largest financial supporter of the International Criminal Court, Japan is a strong proponent of the rule of law, which means that everyone, including the government, is equally accountable and subject to the law. Japan supports the ICC because it is seen as an impartial and independent judicial institution, free of political interference. The Tokyo Trials, which set lasting legal precedents including the individual accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes, did leave a level of skepticism in Japan about the fairness of international tribunals due to “victor’s justice.” However, Japan is still a strong supporter of the ICC. In fact, the current ICC president, Tomoko Akane, is Japanese. Japan supports the current framework that member states should exercise their national jurisdiction to hold UN officials criminally accountable, but the ICC should ensure criminal accountability for more serious crimes. Additionally, Japan is an advocate of the the UN’s zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse. Furthermore, Japan signed the UN’s voluntary compact, demonstrating a commitment to address sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping organizations. Finally, Japan aims to have 1,000 Japanese nationals working in UN-related agencies by the end of this year to increase Japan’s influence in UN bodies with the number of Japanese staff members being 979 at the end of October.
Japan recommends that the international community strengthen the ICC and continue to enforce the rule of law domestically and internationally. Furthermore, to help ensure accountability, Japan believes that member states should establish legislation that allows for extraterritorial jurisdiction over serious crimes committed by their nationals when deployed on a UN mission. Lastly, Japan hopes to develop strategies to help the Secretary-General and UN organs better accumulate information and prevent potential misconduct.
