"Record-keeping and data tracking of allegations of misconduct and subsequent actions started in 2006. In July 2008, the Department of Field Support (DFS) launched the Misconduct Tracking System (MTS), a global database and confidential tracking system for all allegations of misconduct." The CDU website includes a statistics page, but the contents of the UN's numerous notes verbales on disciplinary matters and the responses of Troop Contributing Countries are not disclosed.When allegations of serious misconduct involving military and police personnel occur, the UN may repatriate the individuals concerned and ban them from future peacekeeping operations. Disciplinary sanctions and any other judicial actions remain the responsibility of the national jurisdiction of the individual involved.Members of military contingents deployed on peacekeeping missions remain under the exclusive jurisdiction of their national government. The responsibility for investigating an allegation of misconduct and taking subsequent disciplinary action rests with the Troop Contributing Country, in accordance with the revised model memorandum of understanding, endorsed by the General Assembly in 2007. The Troop Contributing Country involved must then report back to the UN on the outcome of misconduct investigations and actions taken.
Without specific information about disciplinary incidents and actions taken by national authorities, it is impossible to gauge the effectiveness of the steps the UN has taken to deter misconduct by military contingent personnel. One step it could consider is to send observers with military justice experience (retired judge advocates, for example) to attend and report on courts-martial of contingent personnel charged with serious misconduct while on UN duty. The observers' reports could be made public on the CDU website.
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