Reforms to eliminate
Sexual Exploitation
and Abuse
All United Nations (UN) peacekeeping personnel – whether civilian or uniformed – are bound by the standards outlined in the Secretary-General’s Bulletin, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13). However, despite the widespread circulation of these clear standards, acts of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeeping personnel have occurred. The high number of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving peacekeepers uncovered in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004 prompted a radical re-thinking of the UN’s approach to this problem in peacekeeping missions.
In 2004, the UN Secretary-General invited H.R.H. Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the UN, to act as his Adviser on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeeping Personnel. In March 2005, the Zeid Report, “A comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations Peacekeeping operations” (A/59/710), was released.
The Zeid Report provided a comprehensive and innovative package of reforms addressed to both the UN Secretariat and Member States. It was debated in the General Assembly in April 2005, which led to the adoption of a two-year package of reforms for peacekeeping on sexual exploitation and abuse (A/59/19/Rev.1, A/RES/59/300). This reform package is currently under implementation through the Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ (DPKO) comprehensive strategy on sexual exploitation and abuse.