Policing the Peacekeepers: Disrupting UN Responses to 'Crises' Over Sexual Offence Allegations

Abstract

Over the last two decades, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers have faced a series of sexual offence allegations, largely against women and young girls and boys. The earliest reports emerged from Cambodia in 1992 and the latest in 2016, with a large majority of cases situated in the Central African Republic. This article briefly outlines the history of sexual offence allegations that have followed almost every peacekeeping operation conducted since the early 1990s. It then outlines some measures that the UN has devised to prevent sex crimes. It is argued that the strategies deployed do not reflect the gravity of the crimes which continue to be largely portrayed as disciplinary misconduct.