‘MINUSTAH is doing positive things just as they do negative things’: nuanced perceptions of a UN peacekeeping operation amidst peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti

Abstract Recent research has begun to examine patterns of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by peacekeepers deployed in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations (PKOs). Yet, SEA makes up only a fraction of credible allegations of misconduct by peacekeepers. In this article we explore the contours of misconduct in UN PKOs beyond SEA allegations. We argue that the behavior of military forces in their own countries should easily predict their behavior when deployed as part of UN PKOs, which are typically set in fragile, postconflict countries where civilians have minimal protections or legal recourse. Using an original dataset of misconduct in PKOs from 2009 to 2016, we find the behavior of PKO contributor states toward their own populations strongly and consistently predicts the behavior of these states’ military forces in UN PKOs. These findings have implications for the vetting, supervision, and composition of PKOs.

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The UN Security Council and the Political Economy of the WPS Resolutions

Politics & Gender ◽

10.1017/s1743923x1700037x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (04) ◽

pp. 721-727 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Soumita Basu

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Security Council ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

United Nations Security Council ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Peacekeeping Operations ◽

Peace Processes ◽

Un Peacekeeping ◽

Peace And Security

As of June 2017, there were eight United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) on “women and peace and security”—UNSCRs 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, and 2242. These UNSCRs recognize the gendered nature of armed conflicts and peace processes. They propose institutional provisions geared mainly toward protecting women and girls during armed conflicts and promoting their participation in conflict resolution and prevention. In addition, in March 2016, the Security Council adopted UNSCR 2272, which recommends concrete steps to combat sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, an issue that is of significant concern for women, peace, and security (WPS) advocates. The volume of resolutions and policy literature on WPS would suggest that UNSCR 1325 and the follow-up UNSCRs have become central to the mandate of the Security Council. Yet there is a paucity of financial resources to pay for implementation of the resolutions; this has been described as “perhaps the most serious and persistent obstacle … over the past 15 years” (UN Women 2015, 372).

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Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions: Problematising Current Responses

Gender, Agency, and Coercion ◽

10.1057/9781137295613_8 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 122-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Marsha Henry

Keyword(s):

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Un Peacekeeping ◽

Peacekeeping Missions

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Introduction

Violating Peace ◽

10.7591/cornell/9781501748059.003.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

Keyword(s):

Sex Trafficking ◽

Small Body ◽

Full Range ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Peace Operations ◽

Aid Workers ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Peacekeeping Operations ◽

Un Peacekeeping ◽

Peacekeeping Missions

This introductory chapter provides an overview of sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping operations. These behaviors are diverse and have ranged from opportunistic sexual assault and rape to planned, sadistic sexual violence; from networked exploitation such as sex trafficking and the production of pornography to transactional sex, which is often also referred to as “survival sex.” The perpetrators are not just soldiers deployed into peacekeeping operations; they include the full range of uniformed and civilian UN peacekeepers as well as private contractors, aid workers, and others associated with peace operations. The chapter then considers the relatively small body of scholarly work on sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping missions. Understanding the patterns of sexual exploitation and abuse in peace operations, the factors that give rise to it, and its impacts on the capacity and credibility of the international community is crucial to developing effective prevention and response policies globally.

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Violating Peace

10.7591/cornell/9781501748059.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Civil Wars ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Field Research ◽

Sexual Misconduct ◽

International Community ◽

Un Peacekeeping ◽

Extensive Field ◽

Global Peace

This book investigates sexual misconduct by military peacekeepers and abuses perpetrated by civilian peacekeepers and non-UN civilian interveners. Based on extensive field research in Bosnia, Timor-Leste, and with the UN and humanitarian communities, the book uncovers a brutal truth about peacebuilding as it investigates how such behaviors affect the capacity of the international community to achieve its goals related to stability and peacebuilding, and its legitimacy in the eyes of local and global populations. As the book shows, when interveners perpetrate sexual exploitation and abuse, they undermine the operational capacity of the international community to effectively build peace after civil wars and to alleviate human suffering in crises. Furthermore, sexual misconduct by interveners poses a significant risk to the perceived legitimacy of the multilateral peacekeeping project, and the United Nations more generally, with ramifications for the nature and dynamics of United Nations in future peace operations. The book illustrates how sexual exploitation and abuse relates to other challenges facing UN peacekeeping, and shows how such misconduct is deeply linked to the broader cultures and structures within which peacekeepers work, and which shape their perceptions of and interactions with local communities. Effectively preventing such behaviors is crucial to global peace, order, and justice. The book thus identifies how policies might be improved in the future, based on an account of why they have failed to date.

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Reporting sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeeping personnel: a research proposal on community perspectives

10.32920/ryerson.14656689.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kaila Mintz

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Sexual Abuse ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Community Leaders ◽

Community Based ◽

Code Blue ◽

Community Perspectives ◽

Un Peacekeeping

Persons displaced by conflict are considered especially vulnerable to sexual abuse by peacekeepers. While the UN reports publicly on allegations of "sexual exploitation and abuse" by peacekeepers, it is widely acknowledged that under-reporting is a significant problem. Proposed qualitative research involving local civil society organizations and community leaders supporting victims in the context of displacement will elicit their perceptions on the barriers to, and challenges associated with, formal reporting. The planned study, set out as a proposal, will assess perceptions of current reporting structures and recent UN reforms regarding "community-based complaint reception and mechanisms." This will inform further research and consultations into the design of more appropriate reporting structures. The research's dissemination, linked to the Code Blue campaign's advocacy to end impunity for sexual violence by peacekeepers, will seek to convince UN decision-makers that systemic reforms are needed to ensure that victims have better access to appropriate support and criminal justice.

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