2 United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability
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Ai Kihara-Hunt
Abstract
In delivering its central mandate of establishing the rule of law, United Nations (UN) peace operations need to also ensure accountability, both in terms of institutional accountability for effectively delivering the mandate and as a provision of remedy for individual misconduct by peacekeeping personnel. In both, the United Nations Police (UNPOL) has a key role to play. Regarding the former, because the success of UN peace operations is measured by the extent to which the rule of law is (re)established, it is especially important for UNPOL to competently serve the population and provide good-quality rule of law advice for local rule of law institutions. On the latter, UNPOL currently comprises the main personnel who provide investigation and protection of victims/witnesses. While UNPOL has increased its capacity to deal with such issues of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and accountability, challenges remain. UNPOL officers untrained in democratic policing, and the involvement of some individual UNPOL officers in SEA as perpetrators, can respectively engender undesirable power dynamics and undermine trust in the rule of law among the general population. This chapter explores these polar dimensions of UNPOL’s roles in SEA prevention and accountability.
Abstract
In delivering its central mandate of establishing the rule of law, United Nations (UN) peace operations need to also ensure accountability, both in terms of institutional accountability for effectively delivering the mandate and as a provision of remedy for individual misconduct by peacekeeping personnel. In both, the United Nations Police (UNPOL) has a key role to play. Regarding the former, because the success of UN peace operations is measured by the extent to which the rule of law is (re)established, it is especially important for UNPOL to competently serve the population and provide good-quality rule of law advice for local rule of law institutions. On the latter, UNPOL currently comprises the main personnel who provide investigation and protection of victims/witnesses. While UNPOL has increased its capacity to deal with such issues of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and accountability, challenges remain. UNPOL officers untrained in democratic policing, and the involvement of some individual UNPOL officers in SEA as perpetrators, can respectively engender undesirable power dynamics and undermine trust in the rule of law among the general population. This chapter explores these polar dimensions of UNPOL’s roles in SEA prevention and accountability.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables v
- List of Abbreviations vi
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction: Two Decades of Dealing with Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid 1
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Where We’ve Been: The Origins and Scope of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Reflections on 20-Plus Years of Protection from SEA Work 19
- United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability 34
- Victims’ Rights and Remedial Action 46
- Sexual Violence against Peacekeepers and Aid Workers 62
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How It’s Going: Implementing and Institutionalizing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Missing the Mark in PSEA 79
- The Imperative of Prioritizing Victims’ Rights 93
- United Nations Victims’ Rights Statement 108
- Accountability Advocates: Representing Victims 114
- Masculinities and Institutional Blind Spots 130
- Power, Consent and Peacekeeping Economies 143
- Gender, Race, Sexuality and PSEA 156
- ‘We Don’t Have a Word for That’: Issues in Translating PSEA Communication 169
- From ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ to ‘Structural Sensitivity’ 184
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Looking Forward: Where to from Here?
- Agency and Affect in PSEA: Understanding Agency through a Transnational Intersectional Lens 195
- Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid 207
- Rethinking PSEA: Reflections for Policy Makers 221
- Notes 226
- Index 231
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables v
- List of Abbreviations vi
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction: Two Decades of Dealing with Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid 1
-
Where We’ve Been: The Origins and Scope of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Reflections on 20-Plus Years of Protection from SEA Work 19
- United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability 34
- Victims’ Rights and Remedial Action 46
- Sexual Violence against Peacekeepers and Aid Workers 62
-
How It’s Going: Implementing and Institutionalizing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Missing the Mark in PSEA 79
- The Imperative of Prioritizing Victims’ Rights 93
- United Nations Victims’ Rights Statement 108
- Accountability Advocates: Representing Victims 114
- Masculinities and Institutional Blind Spots 130
- Power, Consent and Peacekeeping Economies 143
- Gender, Race, Sexuality and PSEA 156
- ‘We Don’t Have a Word for That’: Issues in Translating PSEA Communication 169
- From ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ to ‘Structural Sensitivity’ 184
-
Looking Forward: Where to from Here?
- Agency and Affect in PSEA: Understanding Agency through a Transnational Intersectional Lens 195
- Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid 207
- Rethinking PSEA: Reflections for Policy Makers 221
- Notes 226
- Index 231
