On Tuesday, March 28th, IPI together with the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN is cohosting a policy forum on “Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers.”
Remarks will begin at 10:00am EDT
Since the inception of UN peace operations in 1948, more than 1,000 UN personnel, including 100 civilians, have been killed and over 3,000 have been injured due to malicious acts. Over the last decade, attacks against peacekeepers have increased, particularly in the UN missions in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Mali (MINUSMA), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). To address this trend and as part of the Action for Peacekeeping Plus priorities (A4P+), the UN Secretariat has focused on increasing accountability to peacekeepers, including by fighting impunity for crimes against peacekeepers.
As the UN aims to advance both accountability of and accountability to peacekeepers, this policy forum will take stock of the progress and remaining challenges linked to fighting impunity for crimes against peacekeepers and provide an opportunity to discuss different perspectives on the issue. The policy forum will also launch an IPI publication on accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, written by Agathe Sarfati, Senior Policy Analyst at IPI. This event and publication are part of IPI’s broader workstream on A4P+, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Opening Remarks:
Jenna Russo, Director of Research and Head of the Center for Peace Operations, International Peace Institute
Djeyhoun Ostowar, Deputy Head of Political Affairs Section, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN
Speakers:
Stéphane Jean, UN Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peace Operations (DPO)
Colonel Ashish Bhalla, Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of India to the UN
Rafik Maamar, Head of Criminal Investigations, UNPOL, MINUSCA (Via Zoom)
Ahmed Ghanem-Ali, Chief, Justice and Corrections Section, MINUSMA (Via Zoom)
Mona Ali Khalil, Affiliate, Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict; Former UN Senior Legal Officer (Via Zoom)
Moderator:
Agathe Sarfati, Senior Policy Analyst, International Peace Institute