UN peacekeepers

Kate Brannen writes here for Just Security about the discipline problem with UN peacekeepers and a Frontline documentary that will air tonight. Excerpt:

In the last decade, the UN has tried to curb the problem, investigating allegations, increasing training, stepping up oversight and trying to educate the public on how to report sexual violence. But the problem cannot be fixed until there is criminal accountability for the perpetrators, and there, the UN has zero control. Instead, it’s up to UN member states to hold their own soldiers accountable, and so far, countries have done very little to do so.

“The reality is today there is no guarantee of criminal accountability for someone who commits rape inside a UN peacekeeping mission, despite a lot of effort by a lot of people and a strong commitment by the top reaches of the UN,” says Anthony Banbury, who served as UN assistant secretary-general for field support.