Code Blue has released a comprehensive plan to end impunity for UN peacekeeper sexual abuse by establishing special independent courts to deal with this issue. The plan aims to tackle the three largest issues surrounding peacekeeper sexual abuse: the historical and long-existing documentation of sexual abuse by peacekeeping personnel, the current system that allows perpetrators to escape prosecution, and the failure of the UN to address the underlying sturctural issues that allow for sexual abuse to occur. A Practical Plan to End Impunity for Peacekeeper Sexual Abuse Code Blue October 13, 2016 THE CODE BLUE CAMPAIGN IS ADVOCATING FOR A NEW, INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OF SPECIAL COURTS TO DEAL WITH SEXUAL ABUSE BY UN PEACEKEEPING PERSONNEL. THIS SOLUTION WILL PROVIDE IMPARTIAL JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS, THE ACCUSED, AND THE BATTERED POPULATIONS WHO CURRENTLY HAVE NO REAL RECOURSE TO JUSTICE. Download as a PDF October […]

Haiti Support Group criticizes the UN’s failure to take responsibility for its role in the cholera epidemic. With no change to medical protocols for the screening and treatment of peacekeeping troops, Phillip Wearne expresses his hope that European courts will rule against UN impunity. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for full text. Haitians Deserve the Truth over UN’s Role in Cholera Epidemic Phillip Wearne, Haiti Support Group September 8, 2016 The 9,200 Haitians killed and more than 800,000 seriously sickened by the UN’s grossly negligent introduction of cholera to Haiti via their peacekeeping force there, will be relieved to know from Stephen O’Brien UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs that “the UN welcomes public scrutiny.” (UN is impartial in Syria as it is elsewhere, The Guardian, 1 September 2016). If only. Having denied its responsibilities and culpability at every turn, […]

The United Nations has been facing an accountability crisis due to failure to properly respond to sexual abuse by peacekeepers, a cholera epidemic it brought to Haiti in 2010, and poisoning of Roma families in Kosovo. While the current Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon still has time to save his legacy by responding justly to these problems, the next Secretary General has an opportunity to turn the situation entirely around by respecting human rights from the outset. An accountability pledge led by AIDS-Free World and IJDH asks the Secretary-General candidates to do just that but so far, only four out of 11 have weighed in. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text. New UN secretary-general must commit to accountability Lauren Carasik, Al Jazeera August 28, 2016 Recent accountability crises in United Nations peacekeeping missions have revealed a […]

This blog post quoting Mario Joseph and IJDH attorney Nicole Phillips analyzes the United Nations’ admission of responsibility for Haiti’s cholera epidemic. It asks whether this admission will lead to further action or whether the UN will continue to act ‘without humanity’ towards the victims of the epidemic it brought to Haiti. Part of the post is below. Click HERE for the full text. Humanity vs Impunity. Will the UN now compensate Haiti’s cholera victims? Rashmee Roshan Lall August 20, 2016 I was in Haiti in February 2013, when the United Nations took the unusual decision to invoke legal immunity as a way of dealing with claims for compensation from 5,000 victims of the Haiti cholera epidemic. Click here for the story I wrote for The Guardian at the time. It was a straight up-and-down report on the worst outbreak of […]

Canada has been making moves towards increasing its involvement in UN peacekeeping but this editorial board wants to remind the government that peacekeeping comes with challenges. The UN is currently facing a serious accountability problem, particularly with the cholera epidemic it began in Haiti, and the sexual abuse perpetrated by peacekeepers all over the world. If Canada is to increase its troop commitment, it must also take steps to ensure that these human rights violations are addressed and don’t continue to happen under its watch. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text. Editorial: Peacekeeping is no picnic Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board, Ottawa Citizen August 5, 2016 Soon after his election victory in 2015, Justin Trudeau declared, “We’re back.” It was a message to both reassure and vindicate those who “worried that Canada (had) lost its compassionate and […]

The United Nations has a long and storied history of mistreating the vulnerable populations it seeks to help. From the withholding of food to those in refugee camps to allegations of sexual assault and abuse by UN Peacekeepers and even the outbreak of cholera in Haiti, the international organization has failed to reform such behavior and hold itself accountable. Immunity from local laws permits UN personnel to exist without repercussions for their actions leading to atrocious crimes against vulnerable populations and protection for aggressors. End the UN’s Legal Immunity Ian Hurd, The Hill July 22, 2016 When the United Nations housed Roma refugees in Kosovo, it built their camp next to a lead-smelting plant. For years, the UN ignored the residents’ complaints that toxic waste was causing seizures, miscarriages, brain damage, and more. A UN report last week excoriated the […]