Researching “Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Peacekeeping Context”

Connie Kaplan, J.D. Candidate 2010, Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University.

Updated:10/23/2018

Table of Contents

1.Brief Overview

2.Introductory Texts

3.List of Key Abbreviations

4.Dictionaries and Directories

5.Treaties

6.Principal Institutions involved

7.Legislation

8.Case Law

9.Selected Journals

10. Blogs

11. Multimedia

12. RSS feeds

13. Example

14. Conclusion

15. Suggestions for further reading

1.Brief Overview

This source is a pathfinder for those interested in researching about the sexual exploitation of children in the peacekeeping and armed conflict context. Most of the sources below will provide avenues for further inquiry.

This source will not address child soldiers.

2.Introductory Texts

Unintended Consequences of Peacekeeping Operations – UN publication containing an article on “Protecting civilians from UN peacekeepers and humanitarian workers: sexual exploitation and abuse”.

The Prosecution and Defense of Peacekeepers Under International Criminal Law – a comprehensive study on the international judicial implications of the prosecution of international peacekeepers and members of military crisis operations under the principles of international criminal law and those of the ICC

Principles of Public International Law, by Ian Brownlie –discusses issues of standing for the admissibility of state claims for crimes under Jus Cogens.

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking – U.N. Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

3.List of Key Abbreviations

ICJ – International Court of Justice

UN – United Nations

UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund

UNHRC – United Nations Human Rights Council

CRC – United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child

CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

4.Dictionaries and Directories

The term "peacekeeping" is not found in the UN Charter and defies simple definition. Dag Hammarskjöld, the second UN Secretary-General, referred to it as belonging to "Chapter Six and a Half" of the Charter, placing it between traditional methods of resolving disputes peacefully, such as negotiation and mediation under Chapter VI, and more forceful action as authorized under Chapter VII.

  • Glossary of Humanitarian Terms In relation to the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict – Prepared by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the glossary is focused on the common usage and understanding of terminology within a humanitarian context, particularly as relating to the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
  • UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) – Created by the UN in 1948 to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace, it evolved to meet the new challenges and political realities, and it now covers both inter- and intra-state conflicts and civil wars.

5.Treaties

Vienna Convention on the Laws of Treaties – A signatory state may have a reservation to any of the below treaties. Article 20 states that if the treaty allows reservations, then no subsequent approval by any state is needed, or if no objection is made within 12 months of the reservation, then the reservation was accepted and is binding immediately.

United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC)– Article 34 requires state parties to take all measures to prevent inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity or the exploitative use of children in prostitution. Article 38 requires state parties to take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children affected by an armed conflict.

  • Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography– Expressly prohibits all forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)– Article 6 prohibits exploitation of prostitution of women and girls.

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children - Supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, requires signatory states to criminalize these actions, and creates a cause of action for arbitration and submission before ICJ if arbitration not successful.

6.Principal Institutions involved

NGOs

  • ECPAT - End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes – ECPAT International is a global network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
  • World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents – 137 participating countriesmade recommendations to combat the sexual exploitation of children
  • NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child – A network of80 international and nationalnon-governmental organizations working together to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - International - Works internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms. May browse a category or search the library. The Resource Library contains many reports, legislation, articles, speeches, and international agreements. See also “The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation”, collecting facts, statistics, and other information on global sexual exploitation.
  • Change.org – Aims to become the central platform informing and empowering movements for social change.
  • Save the Children - Liberia Study on Exploitation of Children – Discussion paper on children’s vulnerability to exploitation and abuse during the delivery of assistance in Liberia based on field studies carried out by Save the Children UK in Liberia

IGOs

  • United Nations
  • Offices
  • Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict– UN office, without field presence, established to promote the rights of the child
  • UN Development Fund for Women (search for “peacekeeping abuse”) – Women’s Fund at the UN, providing technical and financial assistance to programs fostering women’s empowerment and gender equality.
  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – provides a high level outline of progress made since the first allegations of peacekeeping abuse surfaced in 2002
  • Documents
  • The Results of the Congo Investigation – Report of the Secretary-General—Investigation by the Office of the Internal Oversight Services into Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Stopping Human Trafficking, Sexual Exploitation, and Abuse by International Peacekeepers – In UN’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report
  • Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
  • Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by U.N. Personnel in Sudan
  • The Zeid Report– The report analyzes the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeeping personnel. Prince Zeid drew on extensive consultations with Secretariat officials and representatives of the troops and he focuses on four main areas of concern: the current rules on standards of conduct; the investigative process; organizational, managerial and command responsibility; individual disciplinary, financial and criminal accountability.
  • Security Council Resolution 1820 Demanding Immediate and Complete Halt to Acts of Sexual Violence
  • UNICEF - Children in Conflict and Emergencies – basic facts and the large implications of involvement of children in armed conflicts
  • U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) — Body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties and the implementation of two optional protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Governments:

  • U.S. Department of State – Stopping Human Trafficking, Sexual Exploitation, and Abuse by International Peacekeepers – Trafficking in persons report
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Action Guide to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2007-2008
  • Official Journal Of the European Union – Implication of UN forces in sexual abuses in Liberia and in Haiti– European Parliament Resolution

7.Legislation

  • Government of Sri Lanka prosecuting its soldiers nationally for these crimes conducted in Haiti – Reuters article describing Sri Lanka’s decision to discipline its soldiers and criminally prosecute some for “transactional sex”.
  • South Africa prosecuting two of its soldiers for sexual abuse as peacekeepers
  • For more examples of criminal prosecution of peacekeepers in national courts, seeBBC.

8.Case Law

  • The only cases of sexual exploitation and abuse prosecuted so far are those rising to the level of genocide or crimes against humanity. The Rome Statute of ICC defines rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity as a war crime.
  • For an article describing the considerable difficulties that arise in prosecuting crimes committed by peacekeepers, seeWho Guards the Guards? The International Criminal Court and Serious Crimes Committed by Peacekeepers in Africa.
  • WestLaw – The Peacekeeping and International Relations database (peacekpgir) (Requires Westlaw password)
  • Janes (U.S. v. Mex.)(1923) – holding that the breach of duty is attributable to the country whose officials failed to take precautionary measures. (page 362 of the journal).
  • Zafiro (U.K. v. U.S.),(1925) – holding that commanders are responsible for the actions of their contingents, when they failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the wrongful acts.
  • Chorzów Factory Case (Germ. v. Pol.) (1927) – holding that a breach of an engagement involves an obligation to make reparation.

9.Selected Journals

Indexes

oUniversal Human Rights Index of UN Documents

oIndex of Security Council report's publications on Sexual Violence

Journals

oYearbook of International Humanitarian Law

  • U.N. Peacekeeping Operations Year in Review

Key articles

oU.N. Peacekeepers and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: An End to Impunity

oA Strategy to Address Sexual Exploitation by U.N. Peacekeeping Personnel (Requires HeinOnline password)

oVictims of Peace: Current Abuse Allegations against U.N. Peacekeepers and the Role of Law in Preventing Them in the Future (Requires HeinOnline password)

  • UN peacekeepers and the sexual exploitation of children

10.Blogs

Blawgsearch.Justia.Com

11.Multimedia

Videos

  • American Girls Abused by Pimps – an exposé of human trafficking that follows thirteen and fourteen year old American girls as they are seduced, abused, and sold on New York’s streets by pimps, and treated as adult criminals by police.
  • Sex Trade in Foreign Children – Children from overseas are being sexually exploited in the U.K.
  • Sexual Violence in Congo – March 2009 video in which Congo women recall their rapes and the shame they have to live in afterwards. Tells the story of how one woman works to support women victims of sexual violence.
  • Peacekeeper Sex Claims – The charity Save the Children claims sexual abuse of children by aid workers and peacekeepers is rife.

Audio

  • UN Peacekeepers and sexual exploitation in DR Congo – UN Radio

PowerPoint

oHuman Rights and Human Rights-Based Approach– an excellent overview of major human rights treaties, committees, areas of expertise, and reporting.

Podcasts

  • Child trafficking in Côte d'Ivoire
  • Time to stop violence against children – viewpoints of five young participants in the UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children.
  • In DR Congo, counseling and education heal the invisible wounds of war– UNICEF Radio

12.RSS feeds

JustiaBlawgsearch - Peacekeeping Sexual Exploitation

JURIST - Abuse and Peacekeeping

GoogleBlogSearch - Peacekeeping AND Sexual Abuse

  • Change.org's "Relief From Relief Blog" Feed
  • UNICEF TV Vodcast

13.Example

The U.N. issues a resolution authorizing the creation of a peacekeeping mission in Host Country. Troop Contributing Country (TCC) supports the mission by volunteering military troops and other personnel. While off-duty and outside the mission headquarters, the troops engage in sexual relations with young girls.

Issues that may arise in litigation are:

  • Personnel raises the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the U.N., while troops do not;
  • Standing of host country’s claim against the U.N. or against the TCC;
  • Whether the acts constitute a breach of the duty to protect;
  • Whether the acts are crimes against humanity due to their coercive nature;
  • Whether the fact that prostitution is not illegal in the host country is relevant;
  • Attribution of the breach to the U.N. or the TCC;
  • Appropriate remedies; etc.

14.Conclusion

Because the issues have not yet been litigated in international courts, the research may be either too general or too specific, depending on its purpose.

15.Suggestions for further reading

  • Children's freedom from sexual exploitation: international protection and implementation
  • Sexual Abuse of Children: A Human Rights Perspective– does not address sexual exploitation in the peacekeeping context: