Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions
The Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) was created within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in 2007 to provide an integrated and forward-looking approach to United Nations assistance in rule of law and security entities. OROLSI unifies police, judicial, legal, correctional units, and mine action, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, as well as new security sector reform functions, primarily in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as globally with regard to the police and corrections in the context of countries with no peacekeeping missions.
OROLSI is led by an Assistant Secretary-General, who reports to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
Rule of law and public safety and security are central to sustainable peace in countries emerging from conflict. Member States have increasingly recognized that reinforcing rule of law and establishing viable security institutions are fundamental to crisis management, peacekeeping and peace-building.
According to Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the establishment of OROLSI reflects the central role that rule of law aspects increasingly play in peacekeeping operations. Rule of law plays a role in longer-term sustainability of peacekeeping operations and supports exit strategies.
OROLSI’s key task is to provide strategic advice and guidance to missions and to headquarters in the area of rule of law and security institutions. In close collaboration with other members of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support, OROLSI’s units will also concentrate on the planning of field activities, doctrine development, screening and deployment of personnel as it is essential to identify the right personnel, as well as identifying and disseminating lessons learned.
All relevant Department of Peacekeeping Operations entities have been brought together into OROLSI: the Police Division; the Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Section; the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Section; the United Nations Mine Action Service; and certain Security Sector Reform functions.
Mine action
The United Nations Mine Action Service plays an important coordinating role among the 14 different entities that make up the UN Mine Action Team. And in that role, it is responsible for monitoring progress against benchmarks set in an inter-agency mine action strategy for 2006-2010. The strategy includes goals such as reducing death and injury by 50 percent, expanding freedom of movement for at least 80 percent of the most seriously affected communities, and developing national mine action institutions. Visit the Electronic Mine Information Network, which is managed by the United Nations Mine Action Service on behalf of the United Nations Mine Action Team at: http://www.mineaction.org.
Police
United Nations Police personnel play a crucial role in peace operations and currently participate in 18 field missions. Every day, more than 11,000 police officers from 92 countries go on patrol, provide training, advise national policing services, help ensure compliance with United Nations criminal justice and human rights norms and standards and assist in a wide range of other fields. Visit the Police Division’s website at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/police/index.shtml.
Disarmament, demobilization, reintegration
The United Nations has been engaged in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants in post-conflict situations for over 15 years. Together with bilateral and non-governmental partners, United Nations departments, programmes, funds, and agencies are operational in dozens of countries across the globe. These activities are crucial components of the initial stabilization of warn-torn societies as well as their long-term development. Visit the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration website, which is a joint initiative of OROLSI’s DDR Section and 16 other parts of the United Nations system, at: http://www.unddr.org/index.php.
Criminal law and judicial advisory services
In the field, tasks range from assistance in correctional reform and constitutional processes to monitoring and helping to reconstruct the legal system. The number of officers devoted to these tasks in the field is growing, with around 250 authorized justice posts and over 100 corrections officers. Priorities for 2008 include working with the Police Division on a rapidly deployable capacity for rule of law and on providing more guidance and operational support, including training materials, to field components. Learn about the Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Section through DPKO’s Best Practices website at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/lessons/.
Security Sector Reform focuses on building effective, accountable and sustainable security institutions that operate under a framework of the rule of law and respect for human rights. OROLSI is setting up an SSR support capacity to provide a headquarters-based technical resource for field activities; at least 10 peace operations are already involved in SSR activities, which require specialized advice and support. Reforming the security sector is often central to the consolidation of peace and stability, rule of law, good governance and development.