UN chief Guterres sets sights on peacekeepers with war on ‘global menace’ of abuse

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, asked the Security Council to back sweeping changes to the rules for UN peacekeeping operations, including new measures to tackle the scourge of sexual abuse that has dogged the organisation.

Mr Guterres said yesterday that countries must face penalties for sheltering alleged abusers or failing to tackle allegations that troops engaged in crimes such as rape.

“Peacekeeping remains a highly cost-effective instrument,” he said. “If we can do better on prevention, peacekeeping and rebuilding, we can reduce the pressure on our uniformed colleagues.

“I am determined to stamp out sexual exploitation and abuse. We are taking strong steps to promote accountability. Sexual exploitation and abuse have no place in our world. It is a global menace and it must end.”

The secretary general announced the appointment of Jane Connors as the first UN victims’ rights advocate.

“The victims’ rights advocate will develop system-wide mechanisms and policies to promote reliable gender and child-sensitive processes for victims and witnesses to file complaints,” he said. “We will not let anyone cover up these crimes with the UN flag. Every victim deserves justice and our full support.”

The special session drew the participation of nine presidents, three vice presidents, six prime ministers, three deputy prime ministers and more than 30 foreign ministers who were scheduled to attend the daylong gathering. Representatives from 71 countries signed up to speak.

At the end of the day, the 15 members of the Security Council were set to vote on a resolution that is designed to clean up the record of the Blue Helmets. Entrusted with protecting the world’s vulnerable, UN troops have faced 2,000 accusations of abuse since 2005, including a Haitian sex ring.

The centrepiece of the proposed reform is that countries that do not investigate allegations of abuse by their troops would face fines that would be withheld from their mission fees. The UN does not have the legal power to conduct criminal investigations. The withheld money would go into a fund for victims.

The resolution would also provide recognition for “the primacy of politics”, a term that means peacekeeping should take place only in circumstances where diplomatic efforts to end conflicts were taking place.

These political strands include mediation, monitoring ceasefires and assisting the implementation of peace accords.

The resolution also underscored the need to enhance the overall effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and “the critical importance of improving accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness”.

The reforms are a key demand of the US administration, which wants a more effective peacekeeping operation at a time of budget cuts.