Features
Acting with Impunity: A Three-Part Series on Peacekeepers’ Involvement in Trafficking in Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina -- Part III: Gender Perspective and Trafficking
by Pauline White

In this series, I analyze the role that United Nations peacekeeping personnel have played in trafficking in women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first installment of this series discussed the shift in the role of peacekeeping operations since the Cold War. These peace-building missions, sent into post-conflict areas to rebuild state institutions in the aftermath of conflict, bring foreign troops and international organizations into post-conflict countries, often leading to heightened demand for sexual services and potentially to trafficking in women. The second installment of this series analyzed some of the root causes of trafficking in women both in general and in the specific case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and looked at the role of peacekeeping personnel in trafficking in women. This third and final installment focuses on the need for a clearer gender perspective during the peace-building process. Efforts are ongoing and though some efforts are cause for optimism, many lack any real efficacy and provide little support or protection for women in post-conflict states.

During the drafting of the Dayton Peace Agreement, a great deal of attention was paid toward including human rights and fundamental freedoms, more so than in any other previous peace agreement.¹ Part of the peace agreement was a draft of what was to become the new constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A separate Human Rights Agreement was called for under Article II of this new constitution and in Annex six.² Under this Human Rights Agreement, the European Convention for Human Rights and its Protocols became directly applicable in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the Convention, Bosnia and Herzegovina was required to become a party to certain human rights agreements as well as to maintaining its adherence to human rights agreements it had already ratified. Included among these documents was the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Although ratification of this convention should have meant that post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina would work for the equality of women, “affirmative de jure changes to the domestic laws…may not necessarily result in positive de facto changes for Bosnian women.”³ Although paragraph 4 of Article II of the GFA explicitly states that non-discrimination should be included in the constitution, no specific reference to women’s human rights is mentioned.⁴

The history of Bosnia and Herzegovina was characterized with constant reordering. Because of this fact, the people of the state did not have a set concept of what their relationship should be with the state, who was a citizen, what human rights should be protected or how new gender relations should be envisaged in the post-conflict state.⁵ The reconstruction had to address many difficult problems. According to the Chairman of the International Commission on the Balkans, Leo Tindemans, issues that required priority were

the relationship between nation and state; the conflicting expectations of ethnic and religious minorities; the development of nationalism, regionalism, confederalism and federalism; the viability of a multi-ethic state; the acceptance of cultural autonomy; the requirements of modern democracy and civil society; the role of political parties; employment; the transition to market economies; the activities and role of the media; and constitutional problems.⁶

The importance of empowering women in relation to the gendered nature of the war was conspicuously absent. The drafting process provided an opportunity for members of the international community to integrate women’s equality into post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, benefiting not only the local women but women worldwide by setting an example of the need for women’s empowerment within social structures.⁷ Non-governmental actors interested in women’s rights as well as women themselves were also absent during this process.⁸ As a result, the newly drafted constitution did not focus on the specific interests of women, but instead chose to focus on the interests of each of the three warring countries: Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. By doing so, the international community ignored the fact that the events of the war had not only targeted ethnicity, but also women as such.⁹
           
The logistics of peace negotiations may have also served to exclude women. By holding peace negotiations in locations distant from the area of conflict, such as those held in Dayton, Ohio, makes participation by local parties difficult.¹⁰ Local women are better able to express how they and other women have specifically been affected during conflict in order to integrate protections of their rights in the newly rebuilt state. In peace negotiations the “trickle down effect” is often assumed to benefit women. It is assumed that although deliberations may not specifically focus on women, the positive effects of changes caused by peace negotiations will eventually “trickle down” to each individual in the effected community, male or female. Additionally, although women may now hold some, generally lower level, positions in diplomatic offices, the military and the government, it is assumed that eventually they will “trickle up” to the top and have equal positions to men at peace negotiations. Both of these notions ignore gender discrimination inherent in all societies.¹¹
           
According to Madeleine Rees, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia, trafficking into the region could have been predicted.¹² The gendered nature of the war reflected perceptions of women that certainly could not fade simply with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. During the war, various violations of international law occurred including atrocities specifically aimed at women. Many women were systematically raped and subjected to slavery-like conditions in rape camps. These attacks on women’s bodies and women themselves may have been a facet of the gendered nature of ethno-nationalism.¹³ Focused on nationalist ideology and patriarchal power systems, ethno-nationalism placed importance on women’s reproductive roles pressuring women to reproduce in the name of their country. The media added to the construction of women’s role both as mother and as “sex object in the possession of the male national collectivity.”¹⁴ These images of women set the stage for the objectification of women during the war.
           
During war, women’s bodies are often used as a means of retaliating against the enemy. Raping women becomes a method of humiliating male family members and destroying the fabric of a family’s kinship system.¹⁵ This violence against women during war is directly related to perceptions of women that exist during war as well as peace. Women often experience violence because they are women, because they lack equal rights and autonomy.¹⁶ The brutalization of women during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina mirrors those in the trafficking industry during the “post-war moment”¹⁷ – brutalization of women, slavery-like conditions, and limited access to aid. This is in part because the violent actions against women during the war created a moral space in which violence could then be acted upon other women during more peaceful times.¹⁸ In addition, domestic violence often increases during and after conflict. This increase in violence may be due to the availability of weapons, repercussions of violence that male family members have experienced, or the lack of jobs, shelter, etc. that characterize the post-war moment.¹⁹ There was no reason to assume that the militarized nature of the state would transform itself simply because a document was signed ending the war. According to Christine Chinkin, “post-conflict is a misnomer for women.”²⁰ The continued militarized presence in the form of peacekeepers only reinforced the military environment: “the more militarized a state, the more do men, both military and civilian, have the possibility of abusing women with impunity.”²¹ This militarized atmosphere directly contributes to what Cynthia Enloe refers to as the “re-entrench[ment] [of] the privileging of masculinity.”²² Women are therefore marginalized in the peace-building process as masculinity continues to be the “currency” of power. In addition, women’s issues, including the long term systematic violence against women, are not considered an important part of the rebuilding process, leading to the notion that trafficking and other forms of violence against women are natural occurrences.²³

Moreover, the “culture of impunity”²⁴ within peacekeeper contributing states as well as the U.N. itself reflects why women’s needs have been left out of the reconstruction process.²⁵ Women are far from equally represented in positions of power within the United Nations. Women’s issues are generally considered to be peripheral to other interests such as security concerns, thus receiving less attention, power, and finances.²⁶ Because of the international community’s inability to reconcile the notion that women’s voices are equally important to men’s, women were largely left out of the peace process and their interests were not specifically addressed within the new constitution.
           
As mentioned above, women experience war in a different way than men. Women are often separated from their male kin during times of conflict. Left to hold their families and communities together, women try to maintain stability in times of chaos.²⁷ Although more men may be killed during periods of conflict, women often experience more violence, abduction and sexual abuse.²⁸ Although humanitarian aid helps all people within the community, men and women alike, women’s specific needs in post-conflict situations have been largely ignored. These needs, which range from physical and psychological care and economic aid to aid in displacement, are less accessible to women then their male counterparts.²⁹ The inclusion of more women in the peace-building process reinforces the U.N. principle of non-discrimination and tends to lead to reduced incidents of sexual harassment and abuse of local populations, such as trafficking. In addition, women peacekeepers may be more capable of developing good relations and trust with women in the local community and leads to women’s increased participation in local programs including elections.³⁰
           
The need for women’s participation in peace-building operations was addressed in 1995 at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, well within a period that these ideas could have been further implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Strategic objective E.1. of the Platform for Action developed from the Conference calls for an “increase the participation of women in conflict resolution at decision--making levels and protect women living in situations of armed and other conflicts or under foreign occupation.”³¹ Potential actions desired are listed under article 142 and include:

tak[ing] action to promote equal participation of women and equal opportunities for women to participate in all forums and peace activities at all levels, particularly at the decision-making level, including in the United Nations Secretariat…integrat[ing] a gender perspective in the resolution of armed or other conflicts and foreign occupation.³²

Although this and other references were made to women’s roles in peacekeeping, the United Nations did not fully map out the necessary elements for a gender perspective in peacekeeping until 2000 with the Windhoek Declaration and Namibia Plan of Action.³³
           
The Windhoek Declaration states that although peacekeeping has evolved from its traditional form to its more modern multi-dimensional form, women have been denied their role in these new peace-building operations. Moreover, the gender dimension of the peace-building process has not been addressed to the extent necessary.³⁴ The Namibia Plan of Action then lays out how a gendered perspective should be integrated into negotiations for ceasefires, leadership, recruitment, and training as well as other facets of peacekeeper missions.³⁵ For example, article three calls for “more determined efforts…to select and appoint female Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and senior field staff for peace support operations.” This increased participation of women would be “in accordance with the Secretary-General’s target of 50 percent women in managerial and decision-making positions.”³⁶ Women’s increased participation in the peace-building operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina may have led to decreased participation in trafficking by male peacekeepers.

The United Nations is in charge of the overall coordination of peacekeeping operations and is therefore in the position to ensure that all persons have been adequately trained.³⁷ Because the police component of a mission may be composed of individuals from up to forty different countries with different pre-deployment training and different perceptions about the need for gender sensitivity, the United Nations has the responsibility to make sure that there is training used to create “gender mainstreaming”³⁸ within the ranks.³⁹ Within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), there is a unit whose duty it is to provide guidance, through the form of training manuals and other tools, to Member countries so that peacekeepers can be trained before their arrival in mission.⁴⁰

More recently the United Nations has begun to recognize the need for women’s full participation in the peace-building process; unfortunately, this realization comes too late for many trafficked women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In October of 2000, the United Nations passed Resolution 1325. Taking into account the Windhoek Declaration previously discussed in this paper, the document “urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional, and international institutions and mechanisms for prevention, management, and resolution of conflict,”⁴¹ thus recognizing women’s important place in creating peace. The document then continues by addressing the need to adopt a gender perspective when negotiation and implementing peace agreements by including:

the special needs of women and girls during repatriation…reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction; measures that support local women’s peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution and that involve women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace agreements; measures that ensure the protection and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary.⁴²

Although this document illustrated a decent first step in integrating a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations, further work was necessary. In October of 2002, the Report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security was published in response to an invitation for such a document in paragraph sixteen of resolution 1325. In paragraph five, the Secretary-General recognized that women are not equal to men “in any society.” Moreover, cultures of discrimination are only exacerbated by conflict and will not be curtailed with the end of warfare unless women are more fully integrated into decision-making bodies.⁴³ The document also recognized that men and women experience conflict differently. Women are more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation including rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution and trafficking.⁴⁴ As mentioned earlier in this paper, unless these issues are addressed during reconstruction of the state, these policies will be considered natural and violence against women will be perpetuated after the end of formal warfare. If women are integrated into formal and informal peace processes, and attention is placed on including gender specific issues during these processes, then it is hoped that there will be greater equality between men and women within the social, economic, and political constructs of the reconstructed state leading to decreased violence specifically perpetuated against women, such as trafficking.⁴⁵

In a January of 2004 report of the Secretary General on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, importance was again placed on integrating women’s input into peace-building as well as a gender perspective in peacekeeping missions. According to paragraph seventy-three, the DPKO was “strengthening its ability to implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security.” In order to accomplish this task, the DPKO was beginning to include “gender expertise” in the planning stages of missions, in developing of gender-sensitive reporting guidelines, and in the operation stage of new missions.⁴⁶ Furthermore, the DPKO created field manuals that deal with gender mainstreaming.
           
Although we continue to move forward toward a time when women will be fully integrated in the peace-building process, little has changed since 2004. According to Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General, Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, as of December 2005, women account for approximately 1% of peacekeeping personnel, a decline from 3% in 2000.⁴⁷ This trend is alarming, as it not only shows that women have a very small role in establishing protocol for peacekeeping, but the role is actually shrinking. As illustrated above, without women’s involvement in the peace process, peace and security, particularly for women, in post-war areas is unlikely.

The United Nations has also taken steps to try and address the involvement of United Nations personnel, including civilian police, in various forms of sexual exploitation, including trafficking.⁴⁸ Resolution 1325, mentioned above, also addressed the importance of improved training for military and civilian peacekeeping personnel. Paragraph six of the resolution

Requests the Secretary-General to provide to Member States training guidelines and materials on the protection, rights and the particular needs of women, as well as on the importance of involving women in all peacekeeping and peace-building measures, invites Member States to incorporate these elements as well as HIV/AIDS awareness training into their national training programmes for military and civilian police personnel in preparation for deployment, and further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that civilian personnel of peacekeeping operations receive similar training.⁴⁹

Although this request calls for training in women’s rights, it does not state any clear repercussions that would occur for personnel who violate these rights. Also, little emphasis is placed on the gendered structures that cause women’s vulnerability in post-conflict situations. Instead, emphasis is placed on teaching safe sex in an attempt to curtail sexual exploitation. By discouraging sexual relations with local women because of risks to male personnel instead of focusing on the effects that sexual relations have on local female populations, this method attacks only the symptoms and not the root of the problem.

The 2002 Report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security further attempted to address the issue of peacekeeper conduct. In paragraph forty-five of the document, it is recognized that prostitution, and with it trafficking, increased with the presence of international peacekeeping operations and that further action needs to be taken to make sure that these situations are prevented. In addition, the paragraph states that all missions “have clear instructions to thoroughly investigate any allegations of sexual exploitation or assault by any peacekeeping personnel and to ensure that offenders are duly disciplined.”⁵⁰ Unfortunately, as was seen in Bosnia, though zero tolerance is preached, it does not mean that violations are reported or result in disciplinary action. In addition, “duly disciplined” is not defined. Past disciplinary action could be equated to a slap on the wrist, generally ranging from sending violators home or perhaps losing their employment. No criminal charges were brought against violators in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In October of 2003, the Secretary-General issued a bulletin entitled “Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.” Under Section 4.3 of this document, the Secretary-General called for the appointment of a high level official in each mission to receive reports of sexual exploitation and abuse. These reports, though confidential, can be used as support where disciplinary action may be necessary. Furthermore, under Section 5, cases may be referred to national authorities for criminal prosecution.⁵¹ These consequences, however, only apply to United Nations staff. Non-United Nations entities or individuals are addressed under Section 6. In a meager attempt to curtail sexual exploitation and abuse, including participation in trafficking, non-United Nations individuals must sign a document stating that they understand the code of conduct outlined in the Bulletin.⁵² If these individuals fail to prevent exploitation, do not investigate violations, or fail to discipline abusers, the only consequence they face is that their cooperation agreement with the U.N. will be terminated.⁵³

 In January of 2004, the Secretary-General again addressed peacekeeper conduct and behavior in his report on The Implementation of the Recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. According to this report, emphasis has been placed on pre-deployment and in-mission training as well as improved monitoring of peacekeeper conduct.⁵⁴ Responding to the October of 2003 Secretary-General’s Bulletin addressed above, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has also been working to ensure that each peacekeeping mission has developed a strategy to prevent and combat sexual exploitation. In addition, a web-based training module relating to sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse was developed and is accessible to all field personnel.⁵⁵
           
Unfortunately, these steps have not halted peacekeeper involvement in human rights violations, including trafficking against women. Although “221 peacekeepers have been investigated, 10 civilians have been fired, and more than 88 uniformed personnel ha[ve] been repatriated” according to a February 2006 United Nations Security Council brief, abuses continue to occur across the globe.⁵⁶ According to United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, one reason why abuses continue to occur is that not all troops or staff in the mission countries support all aspects of the “zero tolerance” policy.⁵⁷ Without all players in full support of these policies, no true change will ever occur and the culture of indifference which has existed “within ourselves, in our own countries and in the mission areas”⁵⁸ will continue to flourish.
         
Since the end of the Cold War, the U.N. has increasingly been involved in peace-building. This new type of peacekeeping works at creating peace, not by overseeing ceasefires, but by trying to create foundations of peace by building new institutions in which conflict will not easily reemerge. Individuals from various nations are pulled together to participate in peace-building, some represent national police forces while others are employees of privatized military firms. These individuals are brought to post-conflict nations in order to aid in their recovery, yet many individuals have been implicated in various types of human rights abuses, including trafficking in women. These violations are rarely prosecuted, creating an environment of impunity. Members of the U.N. mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the stabilization forces were shielded from prosecution within Bosnia and Herzegovina by immunity outlined in the Dayton Peace Agreement. It was assumed that these individuals would then face criminal charges in their native countries. This did not occur. This systematic failure both by the U.N. and individual nations to prosecute human rights violations weakens the reputation of the U.N. for fighting human rights abuses and reinforces women’s inferior station in society. These human rights abuses were largely targeted at women and mirrored abuse that women had previously suffered during armed conflict. Although the Dayton Peace Agreement was an opportunity for the international community to speak out about the need to empower women in order to curtail future abuses, this did not occur. Instead, negotiations focused on the ethnic facets of the conflict, ignoring the notion that violence was also engendered.

Although gender perspectives are being integrated into peacekeeper training and the U.N. has called numerous times for increased participation of women in peacekeeping, improvement has been slow. Problems of sexual abuse by peacekeepers have continued to flourish in other nations around the globe. Clearly, the instance of Bosnia and Herzegovina was not an isolated incident. In order to create true change, women must be more fully integrated into all aspects of the peacekeeping process and the implications of sexual exploitation on local populations must be firmly implanted in the minds of peace-building personnel. It is only with continued action that we can avoid repeating the mistakes of Bosnia and Herzegovina and can curtail trafficking before it can begin.

Pauline White received her master’s degree in social science with a concentration in human rights from the University of Chicago and her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Wellesley College. She became interested in the international trafficking of women while working as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Salinas, California. The subject then became the focus of her graduate studies at The University of Chicago. Pauline is currently the grants manager at The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, a foundation working to create social change for women and girls. She can be reached via email at pauline@alum.wellesley.edu.

Notes

1. Chinkin in Michael O’Flaherty and Gregory Gisvold, eds, Post-War Protection of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998) 172.
2. Shelley Inglis, “Re/Constructing Right(s): The Dayton Peace Agreement, International Civil Society Development, and Gender in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Columbia Human Rights Law Review 30(1998): 81.
3. Inglis, 103.
4. Christine Chinkin and Kate Paradine, “Vision and Reality: Democracy and Citizenship
   of Women in the Dayton Peace Accords,” Yale Journal of International Law 103(2001) 107; Pajic in O’Flaherty, 6.
5. Chinkin and Paradine, 106.
6. Chinkin and Paradine, 106 citing Leo Tindemans, Forward to International Commission on the Balkans, Unfinished peace: Report of the International Commission on the Balkans, vii, xix(1996).
7. Chinkin and Paradine, 104.
8. Inglis, 77.
9. Chinkin in O’Flaherty, 176.
10. Chinkin, 872.
11. Stiehm in Mary K. Meyer and Elisabeth Prügl, Gender Politics in Global Governance (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999) 55.
12. Rees in Cockburn 65-66; Chinkin 882.
13. Inglis, 66.
14. Inglis, 71.
15. Rehn and Sirleaf, 10; Long, 12.
16. Rehn and Sirleaf, 1.
17. Many women, including Dubravka Zarkov and Cynthia Cockburn, question whether it is even helpful to separate violence during armed conflict from that during the ‘post-conflict’ period as structural violence and oppression of women pervade the social, economic and political makeup of many war torn countries. Cockburn, 10.
18. Long 12; Chinkin, 876.
19. Rehn and Sirleaf, 14.
20. Chinkin, 876.
21. Rees in Cockburn, 65-66.
22. Enloe in Cockburn, 22.
23. Enloe in Cockburn 26-27; Rehn and Sirleaf, 11.
24. According to U.N. Special Rapporteur Louis Joinet, impunity is “the impossibility, de jure or de facto, of bringing the perpetrators of human rights violations to account-whether in criminal civil, administrative or disciplinary proceedings-since they are not subject to any inquiry that might lead to their being accused, arrested, tried, and, if found guilty, sentenced to appropriate penalties, and to making reparations to their victims.” Murray citing The Administration of Justice and the Human Rights of Detainees, Question of the Impunity of Perpetrators of Human Rights Violations: Revises Final Report Prepared by Mr. Joinet Persuant to Sub-Commission Decision 1996/119. U.N. ESCOR, Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination & Prevention of Minorities, 49th Session, Annex II, at 17, U.N. Doc E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/20/Rev.1(1997). Murray, n12.
25. Murray, 477.
26. Inglis, 115.
27. Rehn and Sirleaf, vi.
28. Rehn and Sirleaf, 1.
29. Rehn and Sirleaf, 2; Chinkin, 873.
30. Chinkin, 877; Stiehm in Meyer and Prügl, 41, 56.
31. United Nations, Fourth World Conference on Women: Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 35 I.L.M. 401(1996): p. 435 E.1.
32. Beijing Platform for Action, p. 435 art. 142
33. Rehn and Sirleaf, 63.
34. United Nations, Windhoek Declaration and Namibia Plan of Action, ONLINE (Relief Web) Available: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/GHARkit/Docfiles/WindhoekDecl.doc [May 16, 2004] p. 2.
35. Windhoek Dec., Art. 1, 3, 5, 6.
36. Windhoek Dec., Art. 3.
37. Murray, 521.
38. Gender mainstreaming is “the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels”(Rehn and Sirleaf, par 63 quoting Lessons Learned Unit, U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Operations iii(2000)).
39. Brahimi Report, par 121.
40. Murray, 521.
41. United Nations, Resolution 1325(2000), U.N. Doc S/RES/1325(2000) Art 1.
42. Res. 1325, Art 8.
43. United Nations. Report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security. U.N. SCOR, 57th Session, U.N. Doc. S/2002/1154(2002) par 5.
44. Report of Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security, par 7.
45. Report of Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security, par 26 and par 54.
46. United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General on Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, ONLINE (January 26, 2004,United Nations) Available: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/ctte/CTTEE.htm [May 16, 2004] par 73.
47. Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General, Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (2006). Speech delivered at the Policy Dialogue with Troop and Police Contributing Countries to Review Strategies for Enhancing Gender Balance Among Uniformed Personnel in Peacekeeping Missions, New York, 28 March 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2006 from the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women website http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/.
48. Sexual Exploitation is defined as “any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. Similarly, the term ‘sexual abuse’ means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal coercive conditions.” United Nations, Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, U.N. Doc ST/SGB/2003/13(2003).
49. Resolution 1325, Art 6.
50. Report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security, par 45.
51. Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Sec 5.
52. Under Section 3, specific standards are outlined that mirror United Nations Staff Regulation and Rules. Some specific standards include the notion that participation in sexual exploitation or abuse are grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal; any type of sexual activity with a minor, whether consensual or not, is prohibited; exchanging assistance for sexual services is prohibited; sexual relations with United Nations staff and local individuals is not supported; any incidences of sexual exploitation or abuse must be reported, whether committed by United Nations staff or others; and United Nations staff must work to create an environment where sexual exploitation and abuse do not occur. Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Section 3.
53. Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Section 6.
54. Report of the Secretary-General on Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations , par 68.
55. Report of the Secretary-General on Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, par 70.
56. United Nations. Problem of Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers Now Openly Recognized, Broad Strategy in Place to Address It, Security Council Told. U.N. Security Council, 5379th Meeting, U.N. Doc SC/8649 (2006) par 9.
57. Problems of Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers Now Openly Recognized, par 3.
58. Advisor to the Secretary-General on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein quoted in Problem of Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers Now Openly Recognized. U.N. doc SC/8649.

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