Only a few hours before Thursday’s meeting, another peacekeeper, from the UN mission in the southern part of Lebanon, UNIFIL , has been killed , after arriving under attack. UN Photo/Catianne Tijerina “Most importantly, 66 individuals have been convicted” in CAR, DRC, Lebanon, and Mali for killing UN soldiers, he added. Keeping that international support is certainly “indispensable to achieving success”, he noted that it can take the form of political stress, or through the provision of technical and material support, based on national plans and priorities.
‘Notable progress’
Although a functional group has been supporting sponsor countries in investigating plus prosecuting these offences considering that 2019, important challenges remain. UN peacekeepers patrol Bambari in the Central Africa Republic. In the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mali – the three countries where 84 % of fatalities have occurred across peacekeeping operations because the beginning of 2013 – there has been “an increase in the amount of alleged perpetrators identified plus detained and an increase in the percentage of cases along with confirmed national investigations”, Mister. Lacroix said.
Unacceptable track record
However , serious challenges in bringing criminals to justice have got led to a low prosecution price, and contributed to a period of impunity that continues to embolden offenders. At the launch, he recognized colleagues from several troop and police-contributing countries in whose personnel were killed or injured serving under the UN flag, saying, “their give up will not be forgotten”. Stating that advocacy was “vital”, Mr. Lacroix strongly welcome the official launch of the Group associated with Friends. “Twenty-nine peacekeepers have died in such situations since the beginning of this year”, the UN peacekeeping main said, extending “deepest condolences to the Governments and groups of those who have fallen”.
Moreover, personnel rotation and repatriation are obstacles to witness testimonies.
Provide culprits to justice
Referring to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali by its French acronym, the peacekeeping chief pointed to the 10 October deaths associated with four MINUSMA colleagues through Chad “due to the exploding market of an IED in Tessalit”, which served to emphasize “the continued importance of this issue”. “It is critical pertaining to countries hosting operations to create perpetrators of these crimes in order to justice, in accordance with their worldwide obligations”, he stressed. UN/Byobe Malenga And destructive acts since 26 This summer, have taken the lives associated with Indian, Moroccan and Pakistani peacekeepers serving in the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and three Bangladeshi blue helmets in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Leveling Mission in the CAR ( MINUSCA ).
Supporting host countries
“These issues are further compounded in most cases by the absence of political may to pursue these cases”, he flagged. Since 1948, malicious functions have taken the lives of 1, 056 personnel serving within UN peacekeeping operations and led to 3, 080 a lot more suffering injuries, he stated. While field missions perform important support roles inside their mandated responsibilities, he maintained that support from Associate States was “essential”, like by deploying specialized workers to assist national authorities in investigating and prosecuting these cases. Although couple of perpetrators have been brought to proper rights, he highlighted some “notable progress” since 2019.
Moving forward
“These offences are often committed in areas where the authority of the State may be limited and national law enforcement personnel may be absent”, often creating roadblocks regarding witness security and evidence collection and preservation, the senior UN official mentioned. Noting that the Group of Friends is going to be significant in promoting accountability and facilitating capacity-building and technical assistance to host State regulators, Mr. Lacroix offered the UN’s full support, including by monitoring progress and serving as a Secretariat. Furthermore, in 2021 the Council adopted quality 2589 on strengthening liability for crimes committed towards peacekeepers, calling for a restored focus on bringing perpetrators against UN personnel to justice. Mr. Lacrox recalled that bringing perpetrators to justice, in accordance with their international responsibilities, is outlined in “status-of-force or status-of-mission agreements, in addition to other instruments”.
