scholarly journals UNwilling or UNable? The United Nations and the recurrent problem of sexual abuse

2021 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-330
Author(s):  
Sandra Egelström
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Peacekeeping Forces ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractSince its establishment in 1945, the United Nations has grown to become a powerful intergovernmental body enjoying respect and legitimacy among a large part of the international community. Unfortunately, since the 1990s there have been recurrent problems with the organization’s peacekeeping forces being accused of sexual violence against the very people they are supposed to protect. In this article, the UN’s management of events in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2014 and its inability to put an end to the sexual assaults committed by its representatives have been used to explore whether the organization could be accused of a state crime – under the presumption that the UN can be equated with a state. To do this, the definition of state crime and the complicity continuum developed by Kauzlarich, Mullins and Matthews (2003) are used to evaluate the UN’s actions in relation to the events in the CAR. The responsibilities of the UN in situations like the one in the CAR are examined and discussed.AbstractFörenta nationerna har sedan starten 1945 utvecklats till en mäktig mellanstatlig organisation som åtnjuter respekt och legitimitet från majoriteten av det internationella samfundet. Dessvärre har det, sedan 1990-talet, vid upprepade tillfällen uppdagats att organisationens fredsbevarande styrkor anklagats för sexuellt våld mot just de grupper som de är satta att beskydda. I denna artikel användes organisationens hantering av händelserna i Centralafrikanska republiken (CAR) under 2014, samt dess oförmåga att stoppa sexuella övergrepp utförda av dess företrädare, för att undersöka om FN kunde anklagas för en statligt brott, under förutsättning att organisationen kan likställas med en stat. För detta användes Kauzlarich, Mullins och Matthews (2003) definition av statlig brottslighet, samt det complicity continuum som de utvecklat, för att utvärdera FN:s åtgärder under händelserna i CAR. FN:s ansvar i situationer som det i CAR problematiseras och diskuteras.

The United Nations, Peacekeepers, and Accountability

2019 ◽  
pp. 690-709
Author(s):  
Muna Ndulo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Member States ◽  
Cholera Epidemic ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The United Nations

The 2016 reports of sexual abuse by United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic and the 2015 Haiti cholera epidemic brought renewed attention to the debate on the accountability of the United Nations for wrongs committed or damages caused by peacekeepers against civilian populations in host countries. In domestic jurisdictions, victims of wrongs enforce accountability or seek redress for wrongs or injuries committed against them through the courts. Yet, the doctrine of immunity precludes any legal actions against the United Nations and its officials in domestic courts. They enjoy immunities and privileges under the laws of member states from every form of legal process except insofar as the United Nations has in any particular case expressly waived its immunity. Given the doctrine of immunity, the chapter addresses how accountability can be promoted through policies and measures that ensure that there is no impunity for wrongs committed against civilians and communities by United Nations officials.

The Puzzle and the Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Guinea Bissau ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Gender And Space

This chapter outlines the motivation for undertaking the research presented here, and offers an account of the contexts for the peacebuilding-related activities in which the United Nations is involved: Burundi; Central African Republic; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; and Sierra Leone. The research design is explained, with an overview provided of both the theoretical framework supporting the research and the methodological approach taken. The methodology is a form of discourse analysis engaging both documentary and transcribed interview texts, and this chapter explains how the author uses the concepts of gender and space to structure the analysis in the rest of the book. The chapter also presents an analysis of the literature on peacebuilding to which the author seeks to make a contribution with this research.

Australia and Indonesian Independence

1967 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Hudson
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
South West ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Southern Rhodesia ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The One ◽  
United Nations Charter

Relations between Australia and Indonesia became strained within months of Indonesia's attainment of independence, deteriorating as conflict developed first on the question of West Irian and then as a result of Indonesia's hostility towards Malaysia. For many years, it seemed ironical that Australia should have played a major part in the emergence of a neighbour whose external policies and internal trends endangered rather than safeguarded Australian interests. But there is more involved here than historical irony in the context of Australian-Indonesian relations. Sufficient time has now elapsed for Australian policy on the Indonesian independence question to be seen in the wider context of the whole postwar phenomenon of decolonisation. For it is not merely of interest that Australia should have assisted neighbouring Asian rebels against a European colonial Power (remembering that Australia herself was, and is, a European colonial Power) and should then have been embarrassed by the activities of the rebels coming to office. It is of greater interest that, of the immense number of colonial issues anxiously engaging the attention of international society in the 1940s and 1950s, the years which saw the virtual demise of western colonialism, this was the one issue on which Australia took up the rebel cause. Throughout this period and irrespective of the complexion of the parties in power in Canberra, Australia persistently jeopardised her regional objective of friendly relations with anti-colonial Asia by opposing strongly and, at times, bitterly the anti-colonial cause in the United Nations. If nothing else, the United Nations has provided a forum in which each year Australia and other members have been forced to declare themselves on colonial questions. And, until the 1960s when Australia switched policy, Australia fought against all the anti-colonial Powers' largely successful attempts to have developed a system of international control over colonies under the authority of Chapter XI (“Declaration Regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories”) of the United Nations charter, to tighten the trusteeship system of supervision erected under Chapters XII and XIII of the charter, and to involve the United Nations in particular disputes so as to meet alleged threats to peace — all of them being attempts, however indirectly, to hasten the attainment of independence by dependent territories. Thus, Australia supported South Africa on South-West Africa, the Netherlands on West New Guinea, the British on Southern Rhodesia and Oman, the Portuguese on their African territories, the French on Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. But Australia opposed the Netherlands on the Indonesian question.

Resolution 530 (1983

1984 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 838-840
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Central America ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The One

The Security Council,Having heard the statement of the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Nicaragua,Having also heard the statements of various States Members of the United Nations in the course of the debate,Deeply concerned, on the one hand, at the situation prevailing on and insid the northern border of Nicaragua and, on the other hand, at the consequent dange of a military confrontation between Honduras and Nicaragua, which could further aggravate the existing crisis.situation in Central America,Recalling all the relevant principles of the Charter of the United Nations,, particularly the obligation of States to settle their disputes exclusively by peaceful means, not to resort to the threat or use of force and to respect the self-determination of peoples and the sovereign independence of all States,Noting the widespread desire expressed by the States concerned to achieve solutions to the differences between them,

scholarly journals Towards a Clearer Definition and Understanding of "Indigenous Community" for the Purposes of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, 2010: En Exploration of the Concepts "Indigenous" and "Traditional"

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Sunelle Geyer
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
United Nations ◽  
South African ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Community ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of

Although "indigenous" and "traditional" are key concepts in the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill of 2010, they are not defined therein. The Bill does, however, provide a definition of "indigenous community" that is very clear as to where one should look for indigenous communities for the purposes of this Bill, and that there is likely to be a plurality of such communities, but is very vague as to which groups exactly will qualify as being indigenous.  It is uncertain whether or not the current vague wording of the definition would be strong enough to widen the much narrower understanding of indigenousness prevailing in other South African legislation, the legislation of selected other jurisdictions, and the United Nations. Recommendations are made as to how the definition of an "indigenous community" may be rephrased to address these uncertainties more clearly.

scholarly journals Elusive Legal Definition of Terrorism at the United Nations

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-87
Author(s):  
Mercy Obado Ochieng
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
United Nations ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Legal Definition ◽  
Draft Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of

Terrorism is indisputably a serious security threat to states and individuals. Yet, by the end of 2016, there was still lack of consensus on the legal definition of terrorism at the United Nations (UN) level. The key organs of the UN, the Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly (UNGA), are yet to agree on a legal definition of terrorism. This disconnect is attributed partly to the heterogeneous nature of terrorist activities and ideological differences among member states. At the UN level, acts of terrorism are mainly tackled from the angle of threats to international peace and security. In contrast, at the state level, acts of terrorism are largely defined as crimes and hence dealt with from the criminal justice paradigm. This article argues that the lack of a concrete legal definition of terrorism at the UN level undermines the holistic use of the criminal justice paradigm to counter-terrorism at the state level. To effectively counter-terrorism the UNSC and the UNGA have to agree on a legal definition of terrorism in their resolutions. This will streamline efforts to combat terrorism at the state level and consolidate counter-terrorism measures at the international level. The draft comprehensive Convention on Measures to Eliminate Terrorism (the Draft Convention) should be tailored to fill gaps and provide for a progressive legal definition of acts of terrorism.

scholarly journals Commentary: Women’s Empowerment and Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the DRC

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 44-47
Author(s):  
Eileen Alma
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
National Police

In the last two years, ethnically motivated sexual and gender-based violence rose in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country marked with ethnic-based tensions and conflict over the control of its extractive industries over decades. According to the 2018 Report of the United Nations Secretary General to the United Nations, sexualized violence cases emerged and spread in several provinces in 2017 with at least 804 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in this period, affecting 507 women, 265 girls, 30 men and 2 boys. Despite progress by the international community actors to end these abhorrent practices, this marks a significant increase from the previous year and the delay in national elections has exacerbated conflict. Both non-state actors and state actors are identified perpetrators of sexual violence, including the Congolese National Police.

The United Nations and the Responsibility to Rebuild

2021 ◽  
pp. 274-287
Author(s):  
Alex J. Bellamy
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Relationship

Peacebuilding and statebuilding were integral parts of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) when the principle was first articulated in 2001. But since 2005 they have developed quite separately, creating a gap between the theories and practices of protection and peacebuilding. The effects of this gap are not just theoretical but practical too. The UN’s failure to properly follow through with rebuilding support in Libya contributed to that country’s descent into chaos and civil war, especially after 2013. Likewise a failure to incorporate atrocity-prevention concerns into ongoing peacebuilding efforts in places like Sri Lanka and the Central African Republic meant that the UN’s field presences did not do all they could to prevent atrocities or protect vulnerable populations. This chapter examines the relationship between peacebuilding and R2P in the UN context. It shows how the two were conceived as being mutually supporting activities but were separated during the UN’s wider deliberations on reform. It describes the effects of this gap between peacebuilding and protection before arguing that the two agendas are closely aligned and should be integrated. And it points to practical work to ensure that atrocity prevention is mainstreamed into peacebuilding efforts, and vice versa.

Women and ICTs in the Arab World

2008 ◽  
pp. 3817-3820
Author(s):  
Mohamed El Louadi ◽  
Andrea Everard
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Arab Women ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The One

The digital divide manifests itself on the one hand in the lag in Arab world nations vis-à-vis other more developed countries and on the other hand in the existing inequalities between men and women. Although the United Nations and the World Bank publish a variety of reports on the differences between developed and developing nations, very little data is available to fully grasp the meaning of the gap between genders. In terms of information and communication technologies (ICTs), there are two distinct gaps that need to be recognized: the gap between Arab men and Arab women and the gap between Arab women and women from other nations around the world (Figure 1). Much differs in the lives of men and women. For decades, researchers have published comparative reports, attempting to explain what distinguishes men and women in socio-professional environments. According to Meyers-Levy (1989) men tend to be more comfortable with ICTs and partake more often in gaming and programming. When they use computers, women are more inclined to use them as communication tools. Given women’s presumed lack of experience with technology, their upbringing which is different from men’s, and that the studies they most often pursue are not technology-oriented, it is not surprising that women are generally less inclined to adopt new technologies. Those who nonetheless have tried their hand at browsing the Web were either witness to or victims of offensive language used during interactive discussion sessions; in some cases, they were harassed via e-mail. In order to avoid this unpleasantness, some women assumed male aliases (Herring, 2003). However, since 2000, when men and women reached parity in Web use (Rickert & Sacharow, 2000), it would appear that using the Internet is presently no more intimidating for females than for males. An abundance of other differences between men and women exist. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) acknowledged that there does not exist a society in which women benefit from the same opportunities as men. Everywhere in the world, women are poorer, less educated, and less valued than men. These and other inequalities reduce women’s ability to take advantage of the potential benefits of ICTs and to consequently contribute to their nation’s economic and social development which is in fact facilitated by these same technologies.

The Devil is in the Detail

2019 ◽  
pp. 167-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Jetschke ◽  
Pascal Abb
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
International Authority ◽  
The Status ◽  
Congruence Analysis ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The One ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Devil

This chapter addresses the authority of the United Nations Security Council and its politicization by the BRICS. In particular, it explores the patterns of contestation for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the Responsibility to Protect. How do the BRICS position themselves towards these two issues and how do they justify their demands? Do they build a challengers’ coalition? Using, first, a qualitative analysis of BRICS statements and, second, congruence analysis, this chapter maps and explains the positions of BRICS states on UNSC reform and R2P. We find that BRICS’ individual positions show a convergence on the basic contours of UNSC reform and R2P. The contestation pattern clearly indicates that this group favours the UNSC having strong international authority and also that they share concerns about the liberal content of the UNSC. While there is a strong tendency towards convergence on the one hand, BRICS strongly disagree on the details of the reform of the UNSC—as well as on the implementation of R2P on the other. These differences are so strong that they are unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Congruence analysis shows that power transition theory best explains their agreement ‘in principle’, but that none of the available theories explain their disagreement ‘in detail’. We conclude that, as things stand, the BRICS do not pose a challenge to the status quo in governance within the field of international security.

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