Sixth Committee (Legal) — 72nd session

Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission (Agenda item 78)

«»

Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/72/100)

At its sixty-first session, in 2006, the General Assembly decided that the agenda item entitled “Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects”, which had been allocated to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), should also be referred to the Sixth Committee for discussion of the report of the Group of Legal Experts on ensuring the accountability of United Nations staff and experts on mission with respect to criminal acts committed in peacekeeping operations (see A/60/980), submitted pursuant to Assembly resolutions 59/300 and 60/263 and decision 60/563 (decision 61/503 A).

At the same session, the General Assembly decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee, open to all States Members of the United Nations or members of specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for the purpose of considering the report of the Group of Legal Experts, in particular its legal aspects (resolution 61/29). The Ad Hoc Committee held two sessions at United Nations Headquarters in 2007 and 2008 (A/62/54 and A/63/54).

The General Assembly considered the item at its sixty-second to seventy-first sessions (resolutions 62/63, 63/119, 64/110, 65/20, 66/93, 67/88, 68/105, 69/114, 70/114 and 71/134).

At its seventy-first session, the General Assembly expressed its concern with respect to all alleged crimes on the part of United Nations officials and experts on mission, including allegations of fraud, corruption, and other financial crimes, and urged the Secretary-General to continue to ensure that his zero-tolerance policy for criminal activities is made known to all United Nations officials and experts on mission at all levels. It also reaffirmed various measures adopted in previous resolutions aimed at ensuring the criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission. The Assembly requested that the Secretariat take all appropriate measures to continue to ensure that all personnel, as well as United Nations officials, are properly vetted by the States contributing personnel and by the Organization for any prior misconduct while serving with the United Nations. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to seek, from all States that have notified the United Nations with respect to investigations or prosecutions of crimes allegedly committed by United Nations officials or experts on mission, updates on the status of their investigations or prosecutions, and urged States to provide the Secretary-General with periodic updates on their handling of the credible allegations brought to their attention by the Secretary-General in accordance with paragraphs 15 and 16 of resolution 70/114. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to prepare and keep updated a report containing a compilation and a summary table of national provisions, based on information received from Member States since 2007, regarding the establishment of jurisdiction over their nationals whenever they serve as United Nations officials or experts on mission, in relation to crimes as known in their existing national criminal laws, particularly those of a serious nature, and in this regard took note of the questionnaire distributed by the Secretariat to all Member States to assist in this process. The Assembly also requested the Secretary-General to submit a report setting out all relevant existing United Nations policies and procedures of the United Nations system regarding the credible allegations brought to the attention of States by the United Nations and the investigations or prosecutions of which States have notified the United Nations. The Assembly further requested the Secretary-General to continue to improve reporting methods and expand the scope of reporting, by providing information on the allegations referred to in the resolution on this item, as well as information received from States on their handling of the allegations pursuant to resolutions on the item on all referrals since 1 July 2007, limited to the United Nations entity involved, the year of referral, the dates of follow-up requests from the Secretary-General, information about the type of crime and summary of allegations, status of investigations, prosecutorial and disciplinary actions taken, including with respect to individuals concerned who had left the duty mission or the service of the United Nations, any requests for waivers of immunity, as applicable, and information on jurisdictional, evidentiary or other obstacles to prosecution, while protecting the privacy of the victims as well as respecting the privacy and rights of those subject to the allegations. The Assembly reiterated its request to the Secretary-General to report to it at its seventy-second session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 71/134).

Consideration at the seventy-second session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 8th, 9th and 30th meetings, on 6 October and on 10 November 2017, respectively (see A/C.6/72/SR.8, 9 and 30).

Statements were made by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)), Algeria (on behalf of the African Group), El Salvador (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)), Trinidad and Tobago (on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)), the European Union (also on behalf of its Member States) (the candidate countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, aligned themselves with the statement), New Zealand (also on behalf of Australia and Canada (CANZ)), Norway (on behalf of the Nordic countries), Switzerland (also on behalf of Liechtenstein), India, Mexico, Sudan, Slovenia, the Russian Federation, El Salvador, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Africa, Ethiopia, Namibia, Israel, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, Nigeria and Morocco.

In their general observations, delegations reiterated the importance of the issue of criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission. In this regard, delegations strongly reaffirmed their support for the zero-tolerance policy of the United Nations.  Delegations also acknowledged the commitment and dedication of United Nations personnel in the field, while underlining the negative consequences that criminal acts committed by some officials and experts on mission had for the image, credibility, impartiality and integrity of the Organization.

Several delegations welcomed the recent steps taken by the Secretary-General and other organs of the Organization to address allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse brought against the Organization, including the High-Level Meeting on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the Voluntary Compact on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and General Assembly resolution 71/278 of 10 March 2017. While a number of delegations highlighted initiatives protecting the rights of victims, such as the appointment of a Victims’ Rights Advocate or the establishment of a Trust Fund for victims, some delegations also underlined the need to protect the due process rights of those against whom allegations were raised. Several delegations emphasized the need to focus on all crimes committed by United Nations officials and experts on mission. The new bulletin of the Secretary-General on protection against retaliation (ST/SGB/2017/2) was welcomed.

A number of delegations stressed the need to ensure that all personnel was properly vetted for any prior misconduct by contributing States and the United Nations and appreciated existing pre-deployment and in-mission training as well as awareness-raising measures taken by the United Nations and Member States. Some delegations noted that national disciplinary standards should be harmonized with United Nations standards, and highlighted the importance of continued cooperation between States in criminal investigations and extradition proceedings.

Several delegations emphasized that it was essential for all States to establish jurisdiction to be able to investigate and prosecute potential crimes committed by their nationals when serving abroad. While some delegations expressed their support for the proposal relating to the negotiation of an international convention, other delegations reiterated that it was premature to discuss a draft convention at this time. A number of delegations remained ready to consider the proposal in the long-run, but suggested more information should be provided by both Member States and the Secretary-General to assess this possibility. Several delegations also called for a continued effort to improve the quality of information and communication between Member States and the Secretary-General, particularly with regard to referrals of credible allegations that crimes have been committed by United Nations officials and experts on mission.

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 30th meeting, on 10 November 2017, the representative of Pakistan, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission” (A/C.6/72/L.18). At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/72/L.18 without a vote.

Under the draft resolution, the General Assembly would express its concern with respect to all alleged crimes on the part of United Nations officials and experts on mission, including allegations of fraud, corruption, and other financial crimes, and would urge the Secretary-General to continue to ensure that the zero-tolerance policy is made known to all United Nations officials and experts on mission at all levels. The Assembly would further request the Secretary-General to ensure greater quality and consistency in investigations by investigative entities of the Organization through the development of harmonized standards of investigation, including verification of allegations and information received. The Assembly would strongly urge States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that crimes by United Nations officials and experts on mission do not go unpunished and that the perpetrators of such crimes are brought to justice. The various measures adopted in previous resolutions aimed at ensuring the criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission would be reaffirmed. In addition, the Assembly would further request that the Secretariat take all appropriate measures to continue to ensure that all such personnel, as well as United Nations officials, are properly vetted by the States contributing personnel and the Organization for any prior misconduct while serving with the United Nations, and urge the Secretary-General to also make Member States contributing personnel to serve as experts on mission aware of the necessity of providing appropriate conduct-related training prior to deployment.

The Assembly would decide to organize another briefing by the Secretariat at its seventy-third session. The Assembly would stress the critical importance of understanding what assistance and support is available for the benefit of victims of criminal conduct perpetrated by United Nations officials and experts on mission and request the Secretary General to consider this and report to the Sixth Committee in its briefing at the seventy-third session. Furthermore, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to seek, from all States that have notified the United Nations with respect to investigations or prosecutions of crimes allegedly committed by United Nations officials or experts on mission, updates on the status of their investigations or prosecutions. The Assembly would urge States to provide the Secretary-General with periodic updates on their handling of the credible allegations brought to their attention by the Secretary-General, provided that this would not be contrary to national laws, or prejudice national investigations or national proceedings.  The Assembly would express its deep concern with regard to the significant number of instances where States to which allegations have been referred have failed to advise the United Nations of any steps taken in response to such referrals, including the failure to acknowledge such referrals.

The Assembly would also recall its previous requests for Governments to provide specific details on the measures taken as necessary for the implementation of previous resolutions on this item, and would request in this regard to prepare and keep updated a report containing a compilation and a summary table of national provisions, based on information received from Member States since 2007, regarding the establishment of jurisdiction over their nationals whenever they serve as United Nations officials or experts on mission, in relation to crimes as known in their existing national criminal laws, particularly those of a serious nature, and in this regard would take note of the questionnaire distributed by the Secretariat to all Member States to assist in this process. The Assembly would further request the Secretary-General to submit and keep updated a report setting out all relevant existing United Nations policies and procedures of the United Nations system regarding the credible allegations brought to their attention by the United Nations or investigations/prosecutions notified to the United Nations, and request the Secretary-General to develop recommendations to help ensure that such policies and procedures relating to the reporting, investigation, referral and follow up of credible allegations revealing that a crime may have been committed by United Nations officials and experts on mission are coherent, systematic and coordinated throughout the United Nations system.

The Assembly would furthermore request the Secretary-General to continue to improve reporting methods and expand the scope of reporting, by providing information on the allegations referred to in the draft resolution, as well as information received from States on their handling of the allegations pursuant to resolutions on the item on all referrals since 1 July 2007, limited to the United Nations entity involved, the year of referral, the dates and methods of follow-up requests from the Secretary-General, information about the type of crime and summary of allegations, status of investigations, prosecutorial and disciplinary actions taken, including with respect to individuals concerned who have left the duty mission or the service of the United Nations, any requests for waivers of immunity, as applicable, and information on jurisdictional, evidentiary or other obstacles to prosecution, while protecting the privacy of the victims as well as respecting the privacy and rights of those subject to the allegations.

The Assembly would also reiterate its decision that the consideration of the report of the Group of Legal Experts, in particular its legal aspects, would be continued at the seventy-third session in the context of a working group of the Sixth Committee, and would decide to include the item in the provisional agenda of the seventy-third session.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-third session (2018).

Full texts of submissions (A/72/205)

State Original submission Translation
Austria English  
Bosnia and Herzegovina English  
El Salvador Spanish English
Finland English  
Greece English*  
New Zealand English  
Switzerland French English
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland English  

* to be included in future report

Related links

 

Quick Links

Key Documents

Resources