Sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts

In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 7/13 and 52/26, the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, presents a thematic study on sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. She elaborates on the manifestations of sexual abuse of children in such contexts and contributing factors. Further, she identifies the gaps in the current United Nations efforts in combating the offences and provides concrete recommendations to bridge the gaps by integrating a child rights-based approach and ensuring accountability of perpetrators.

The report is a product of contributions received from a call for inputs¹ issued as well was literature review relevant to this topic and the outcome of meetings held with various stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank all stakeholders for their contributions and welcomes the engagement demonstrated through this exercise.

1. All submissions received are available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2024/call-input-sexual-abuse-children-peacekeeping-and-humanitarian-contexts. ↩

The report also includes information on the activities undertaken by the Special Rapporteur since her previous report.

From 14 to 25 October 2024, the Special Rapporteur conducted an official country visit to Germany. The report of that country visit will be presented to the Council in March 2026. The Special Rapporteur extends her gratitude to the Government of Germany for the cooperation extended before, during and after the visit.

The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government of United Arab Emirates for the invitation extended to her to conduct a country visit and looks forward to the visit, which will take place from 14 to 25 April 2025.

In follow-up to her country visits to Mauritius, Montenegro and the Philippines between 2021 and 2022, the Special Rapporteur invited all stakeholders to submit information on their views on progress made in the protection and response to incidents of the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children in those countries. She received 13 inputs² to her request and expresses her gratitude to all stakeholders that contributed to the exercise.

2. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2024/call-inputs-follow-special-rapporteurs-country-visits-2021-2022. ↩

During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur transmitted communications to Governments jointly with other mandate holders relating to issues that fell within the scope of her mandate. The Special Rapporteur also issued press statements jointly with other mandate holders.

On 18 November, on the occasion of the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence, the Special Rapporteur announced the selection of her Youth Adviser following the conclusion of the mandate’s first Youth Human Rights Challenge.³ The challenge was aimed at providing an opportunity for young people to show their understanding of issues that fall within the scope of the mandate. The winner of the challenge will serve as the first Youth Adviser to the Special Rapporteur for a period of one year.

3. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-sale-of-children/1st-youth-human-rights-challenge. ↩

On 12 and 13 September 2024, the Special Rapporteur participated in a meeting to help create a globally accessible research agenda, organized by the Oxford Internet Institute in collaboration with the World Childhood Foundation, on proven methods to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse. She highlighted that there was little research on this issue from the global South, urging researchers to factor in cultural specificity in their research and evidence gathering from the global South.

On 10 October, the Special Rapporteur presented a report to the General Assembly,⁴ which was focused on the existing and emerging sexually exploitative practices against children in the digital environment. In an interactive dialogue, she examined the misuse of technologies that exacerbate and amplify children’s exposure to risks, harms and all forms of sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and provided concrete recommendations to respond to this scourge. On 11 October, jointly with representatives of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates, the Permanent Mission of Uruguay and the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, she convened and spoke at a side event, on the same topic.

4. A/79/122. ↩

On 7 and 8 November, the Special Rapporteur participated in the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, held in Bogotá. In that context, on 6 November, she spoke at a satellite event on the commitment of countries in Africa to keeping children safe, hosted by the African Partnership to End Violence against Children. She outlined practical actions that governments must take to prioritize prevention initiatives. On 8 November, she also spoke at a side event on ending childhood sexual violence, hosted by the non-governmental organizations To Zero and Together for Girls, at which she highlighted the importance of tackling childhood sexual violence.

On 4 and 5 December, the Special Rapporteur participated in the 2024 Global Summit, organized by the WeProtect Global Alliance in Abu Dhabi. At the plenary session, the Special Rapporteur highlighted sexually exploitative practices against children in the digital environment and emphasized that stakeholders must be proactive and collaborative in prevention initiatives.

The United Nations often operates in complex field settings, marked by conflict, violence and insecurity and humanitarian emergencies. In such contexts, United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian operations play a critical role in helping States and peoples to emerge from crises with the hope for a better future. However, since the early 1990s, the United Nations has been grappling with widespread allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, including against children.⁵ The perpetrators of such crimes are the very people deployed and mandated to support and protect at-risk individuals and communities and to prevent harm.

5. A/71/99, para. 39. ↩

According to the Secretary General’s Bulletin on special measures for the protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, sexual exploitation is “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”, while sexual abuse means “the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions”.⁶

6. ST/SGB/2003/13, sect. 1. ↩

The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as any person below age 18. All sexual activity with a child is unequivocally classified as sexual abuse.⁷

7. “Conduct in UN field missions: glossary”, available at https://conduct.unmissions.org/glossary. ↩

For the purpose of the report, sexual abuse of children in the peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts refers to offences perpetrated by United Nations staff and related personnel, as follows:
(a) Personnel of the United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, including military, police and civilian personnel;
(b) Personnel of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes who are staff members of the specialized agencies and related organizations of the United Nations;⁸
(c) Implementing partners, who are responsible and accountable for ensuring the proper use of resources provided by United Nations agencies and the implementation and management of intended programmes, which may include government institutions, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations;⁹
(d) Non-United Nations international forces authorized under Security Council mandates.

8. See Task Team on the SEA Glossary for the Special Coordinator on improving the United Nations response to sexual exploitation and abuse, “UN glossary on sexual exploitation and abuse”, second ed., 24 July 2017, para. 46 (https://hr.un.org/sites/hr.un.org/files/SEA%20Glossary%20%20%5BSecond%20Edition%20-%202017%5D%20-%20English_0.pdf). ↩
9. Ibid., para. 42. ↩

The Convention on the Rights of the Child unequivocally affirms that children must enjoy protection from all forms of sexual abuse.¹⁰ They must also be protected from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,¹¹ which encompass sexual abuse. The Convention also calls upon State parties to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by armed conflicts.¹² For children who are victims of sexual abuse, there is an obligation to promote their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration in an environment that fosters the children’s health, self-respect and dignity.¹³

10. Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 19 and 34. ↩
11. Ibid., art. 37. ↩
12. Ibid., art. 38 (4). ↩
13. Ibid., art. 39. ↩

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography also affords protection to children from any form of sexual exploitation, including for remuneration or other forms of consideration, and from being represented in any child sexual abuse materials.¹⁴ The Optional Protocol further provides that throughout criminal justice process, the best interest of the child victims must be a primary consideration, including through the recognition of their vulnerability and adaptation of procedures best suited to their needs, providing them with the opportunity to express their views and concerns, protecting their privacy and identity, ensuring their safety and protecting them from intimidation and retaliation.¹⁵

14. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, art. 2. ↩
15. Ibid., art. 8. ↩

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women prohibits sexual abuse against girls in conflict and post-conflict contexts.¹⁶ Conflicts exacerbate existing gender inequalities, placing girls at a heightened risk of various forms of gender-based violence by both State and non-State actors, including United Nations peacekeeping personnel.¹⁷

16. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 30 (2013), para. 34. ↩
17. Ibid. ↩

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that everyone has the right to an effective remedy for acts violating their fundamental rights (article 8). The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further affirmed that any person whose rights or freedoms as recognized in the Covenant are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.¹⁸

18. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2 (3). ↩

Sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts can take the form of rape, sexual assault, solicitation of child sexual abuse in prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation and abuse.¹⁹ Various cases have been widely reported over the years. In the refugee camps in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, allegations came to light in 2001 that humanitarian workers – both from NGOs and United Nations agencies – had engaged in sexual activities with children in exchange for assistance such as food, medical services, transport, registration for repatriation, registration for ration cards and education scholarships.²⁰ In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was reported in 2004 that young girls were raped by United Nations peacekeepers and given money or food afterwards to give the impression that the rape was a consensual transaction, thus creating a situation of dependency that resulted in a continued downward spiral of further sexual abuse and dependency.²¹ In Haiti, from 2004 to 2007, 134 peacekeepers sexually abused at least 9 Haitian children in exchange for food, money or other items.²² Some of the victims were as young as age 12 and some were sexually abused by more than 30 soldiers over the three-year period.²³ In the Central African Republic, in 2014, a number of children in a camp for internally displaced persons had allegedly been subjected to sexual acts in exchange for military food rations or small amounts of cash by members of international peacekeeping forces.²⁴

19. A/71/818 and A/71/818/Corr.1, annex IV, table A. ↩
20. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children United Kingdom, Sexual Violence and Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone (2002), p. 43, available at https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-committees/international-development/2002-Report-of-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-Save-the-Children.pdf. ↩
21. A/59/710, para. 6. ↩
22. CRC/C/HTI/CO/2-3, para. 34 (c); and REDRESS and Child Rights International Network, Litigating Peacekeeper Child Sexual Abuse (2020), p. 34. ↩
23. REDRESS and Child Rights International Network, Litigating Peacekeeper Child Sexual Abuse, p. 34. ↩
24. A/71/99, para. 8. ↩

The primary consequences of sexual abuse of children in the above settings include health risks associated with teen pregnancies, illness, injury and even death as a result of pregnancy-related complications, infant mortality of babies born to teenage mothers, high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and exposure to HIV/AIDS.²⁵ Furthermore, psychological trauma, stigmatization by their own families and communities and social exclusion may even push the victims into other exploitative relationships with perpetrators in order to survive.²⁶ Girls who become pregnant usually miss out on developmental opportunities, such as training and education possibilities, which they have to give up as result of pregnancy, resulting in illiteracy, lack of education, poor skills development and other long-term opportunities and prospects.²⁷ The sexual abuse of children is more commonly recognized and identified when it affects girls. However, boys are also subjected to sexual abuse and many face additional barriers linked to stigma or societal norms when accessing services that are often ill-equipped to support them.²⁸

25. UNHCR and Save the Children United Kingdom, Sexual Violence and Exploitation, p. 12. ↩
26. A/59/710, para. 10. ↩
27. Submission from State of Palestine; see also UNHCR and Save the Children United Kingdom, Sexual Violence and Exploitation, p. 66. ↩
28. Ibid., p. 41. See previous report of the Special Rapporteur on the subject (A/76/144). ↩

Displaced children, especially in transit areas and camps for refugees and internally displaced persons, are at heightened risk of sexual abuse.²⁹ Oftentimes, the lack of privacy in shelters or overcrowded camps with poor infrastructure or supervision create environments where children can be targeted by perpetrators.³⁰ Within such settings, separated and unaccompanied children are even more at risk given the loss of their protective family support and their complete dependence on aid.³¹ Other vulnerable groups include children from single-parent adult households, children from child-headed households, orphans and children who are street traders or whose parents are street traders.³² Children of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, encounter significant obstacles in accessing services and experience various forms of discrimination.³³ Children with disabilities, either physical or intellectual, and mental health conditions are also at increased risk of sexual abuse given their vulnerabilities and may have more limited access to reporting channels for abuse.³⁴

29. Submissions from International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Morocco (in French), Ecuador (in Spanish) and Qatar (in Arabic); and CRC/C/HTI/CO/2-3, para. 34 (e). ↩
30. Submissions from Fundación para la democracia (in Spanish) and World Vision East Asia Regional Office. ↩
31. Submissions from Morocco and State of Palestine. ↩
32. UNHCR and Save the Children United Kingdom, Sexual Violence and Exploitation, p. 10; see also submission from Morocco. ↩
33. Submission from ECPAT International. ↩
34. Submissions from UNICEF, the Population Council and Qatar. ↩

Girls who experience sexual abuse and find themselves pregnant are often left with children to raise by themselves. The individuals who fathered the children often take no responsibility for the child, or the young mother, and they may be abandoned when the missions to which such individuals are assigned are moved or concluded. Babies of non-local parentage may be treated differently by members of the mother’s community because of their mixed ethnicity, or because of societal stigma against premarital sex or having children out of wedlock. Furthermore, having children without a father may make it difficult for the mother to find a spouse within the community who is willing to marry her. All of the above dynamics continue to affect the lives of victims, depriving them of community support including economic, social and emotional.³⁵ In some cases, in such circumstances, young mothers may again seek out exploitative relationships with other peacekeeping personnel or humanitarian workers in order to alleviate their economic hardship.³⁶

35. Svoboda, Emma,“ Empty promises: peacekeeper babies and discretionary impunity within the United Nations”, Harvard International Law Journal, vol. 64, No. 1 (2023), pp. 20–21. ↩
36. Lee, Sabine and Bartels, Susan, “‘They put a few coins in your hand to drop a baby in you’: a study of peacekeeper-fathered children in Haiti”, International Peacekeeping, 11 December 2019, p. 24. ↩

Filing civil paternity claims is one way in which local legal systems may allow child victims and their children to receive support, including in the form of monetary payment and legal recognition of paternity status.³⁷ However, in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts, the legal system is often not functional, meaning that there is no protection or support afforded for the victims and their children.³⁸ Even when paternity claims are established, domestic legal systems may lack provisions to enforce the decisions outside their territory.³⁹

37. Svoboda, “Empty promises”, p. 21. ↩
38. A/59/710, para. 6; see also submission from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights. ↩
39. REDRESS and Child Rights International Network, Litigating Peacekeeper Child Sexual Abuse, p. 43. ↩

The foundations of sexual exploitation and abuse, including in peacekeeping and humanitarian crises, are embedded in unequal power relationships.⁴⁰ United Nations and related personnel possess significant influence and control over resources essential for survival, leading to a potential for the abuse of power in different contexts, especially in crisis settings, where accountability is often limited.⁴¹

40. “Report of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises”, 13 June 2002, para. 2, available at https://pseataskforce.org/uploads/tools/reportofthetfonpseainhumanitarianrisesincludesproposedplanofaction_iasctaskforceonpseainhumanitariancrises_english.pdf; and submission from David Cohen; Ezequiel Heffes; Dato’ Shyamala Alagendra; Shelly Whitman; Mikko Otani; Laura Guerico; and Prudence Acirokop. ↩
41. Submission from UNICEF. ↩

Other contributing factors to sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts include:⁴²
(a) The erosion of the social fabric: this may arise from the loss of family members due to the crisis situation, resulting in children having little or no family support; the absence of protective family figures may expose children to exploitation and sexual abuse;⁴³
(b) Poverty and lack of income-generating opportunities: in crisis settings, children may face extremely difficult economic circumstances and pressure to contribute to family survival strategies, resulting in many children resorting to various harmful coping mechanisms that expose them to risks of sexual abuse, including in prostitution settings or in transactional sex;⁴⁴
(c) Discriminatory cultural and gender norms and practices: some societies across the globe have practices that are deeply discriminatory against women and girls and existing institutions and laws fail to protect them from such practices: women and girls in some contexts are seen as property and their well-being is considered inferior to that of men;⁴⁵ some countries have a lower age of sexual consent for children;⁴⁶ a history of sexual abuse within the family or community can normalize the sexual abuse of children;⁴⁷ and these patterns and practices continue and are exacerbated in crisis settings, leading to a degree of acceptance and normalization of sexually abusive behaviours against children;⁴⁸
(d) Legal and institutional vacuum: in crisis settings, justice, security and child protection structures can be seriously disrupted, non-existent or overwhelmed by other priorities;⁴⁹ local authorities usually lack the resources and/or the political will to tackle the issue of child sexual abuse;⁵⁰ and incidents of sexual abuse against children often go unreported and the alleged perpetrators unpunished, creating impunity where perpetrators can commit abuses without any fear of the consequences.⁵¹

42. A/57/465, paras. 6 and 22; and A/59/710, para. 13. ↩
43. Submissions from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Fundación para la democracia. ↩
44. Submissions from ECPAT International and Ireland. ↩
45. Submission from Ecuador. ↩
46. Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children Occurring in Humanitarian Settings: Reflections from Practice (2022), p. 26. ↩
47. Submission from UNMISS. ↩
48. Submissions from Ecuador and El Salvador (in Spanish). ↩
49. Submissions from Ecuador and Morocco. ↩
50. Submission from Childlight. ↩
51. Submissions from Cohen et al. and Morocco. ↩

Some of the contributing factors are internal to peacekeeping missions and humanitarian agencies.⁵² Unscreened, poorly vetted and untrained staff and volunteers recruited at short notice in emergency operations contribute to the incidence of sexual abuse of children in the field.⁵³ As a result, personnel have limited knowledge about the rights of children and child protection and safeguarding standards⁵⁴ and may even have been involved in previous human rights violations, including sexual abuse. Furthermore, personnel come from diverse cultural backgrounds, in some of which the sexual objectification or coercion of women and girls may be a harmful entrenched stereotype.⁵⁵ They may also hold discriminatory prejudices against a local population that result in behaviours that harm children to satisfy their personal desires or to facilitate exploitative and abusive networks that provide them with benefits, as in the case of prostitution.⁵⁶

52. See A/59/710. ↩
53. Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, p. 26. ↩
54. Submission from El Salvador. ↩
55. Thelma Awori, Catherine Lutz and Paban J. Thapa, “Final report of the expert mission to evaluate risks to SEA prevention efforts in MINUSTAH, UNMIL, MONUSCO and UNMISS”, 3 November 2013, p. 6 (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/514a0127e4b04d7440e8045d/t/55afcfa1e4b07b89d11d35ae/1437585313823/2013+Expert+Team+Report+FINAL.pdf). ↩
56. Submission from Fundación para la democracia. ↩

Over the past decades, the United Nations system has developed invaluable insights and dedicated significant resources to combating sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the longest-standing and highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the United Nations system.⁵⁷ Following the allegations of widespread sexual exploitation and abuse of refugee and internally displaced women and children by humanitarian workers and peacekeepers in West Africa,⁵⁸ in 2002, the Committee adopted six core principles relating to sexual exploitation and abuse, which included the prohibition of sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers and the prohibition of sexual activity with children.⁵⁹ The principles must be incorporated into agency codes of conduct, setting clear standards for humanitarian workers.

57. General Assembly resolution 46/182, para. 38. ↩
58. A/57/465. ↩
59. Ibid., annex I, para. 10 (a). ↩

Likewise, in 2003, the General Assembly emphasized the shared responsibility of United Nations agencies and troop-contributing countries to ensure that all personnel are held accountable for sexual exploitation and related offences committed while serving in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.⁶⁰ Following the adoption of that resolution, the Secretary-General promulgated a bulletin setting out his zero tolerance policy,⁶¹ which prohibits all United Nations staff and peacekeeping personnel⁶² from committing acts of sexual exploitation and abuse. The bulletin provides that sexual activity with children is prohibited, regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally.⁶³

60. General Assembly resolution 57/306. ↩
61. ST/SGB/2003/13. ↩
62. General Assembly resolution 59/300, para. 2. ↩
63. ST/SGB/2003/13, section 3.2 (b). ↩

Nevertheless, allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse continue to be made against peacekeeping personnel and other international forces. In 2016, the Secretary-General appointed a Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, with a mandate to organize, unify and prioritize the United Nations system-wide measures for prevention and response.⁶⁴ The Special Coordinator, in collaboration with the Department of Peace Operations, the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance and the Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate, has been leading efforts to operationalize protection measures, including through joint assessment visits, capacity-building sessions, visits to national police and troop training centres and constructive engagement with Member States and leadership to advocate for enhanced prevention and response measures.⁶⁵

64. A/71/97, para. 11. ↩
65. A/79/553, para. 136. ↩

In 2016, the Security Council also endorsed the decision of the Secretary-General to repatriate any military unit or formed police unit within United Nations peacekeeping operations if there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by that unit.⁶⁶ The Security Council also requested the Secretary-General to repatriate and replace all military units and/or formed police units if the related troop- or police-contributing country has not taken appropriate steps to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against its personnel and/or has not held the perpetrators accountable.⁶⁷

66. Security Council resolution 2272 (2016), para. 1. ↩
67. Ibid., paras. 2 and 8. ↩

In order to strengthen a common approach between the United Nations, humanitarian actors and government partners, in 2022, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched an inter-agency technical working group, under the auspices of the office of the Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, composed of representatives of various United Nations agencies, which spearheaded the development, in 2024, of a joint framework for prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.⁶⁸ The framework was aimed at establishing a shared approach to prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse between governments and the United Nations through strengthening system-wide cooperation on the topic, streamlining government engagement among various United Nations entities and bolstering the capacity of government partners.

68. “The Joint UN-Government Framework for PSEA”, briefing note, July 2024, p. 1, available at https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/The Joint UN-Government Framework for PSEA Briefing Note July 2024.pdf. ↩

In 2016, the Secretary-General created the trust fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse to support United Nations and non-United Nations entities and organizations that provide victim assistance and support services.⁶⁹ In 2017, the Secretary-General launched a new strategy to improve the United Nations system-wide approach to preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse, focusing on four main areas of action: putting victims first; ending impunity; engaging civil society and external partners; and improving strategic communications for education and transparency.⁷⁰ The strategy includes the appointment of a Victims’ Rights Advocate to put the rights and dignity of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse at the forefront of United Nations prevention and response efforts.⁷¹ To translate the global reach of the Victims’ Rights Advocate on the ground, the Secretary-General instructed his special representatives in the peace operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and South Sudan – where the highest numbers of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse were reported at that time – to identify staff positions to perform the functions of the Victims’ Rights Advocate in the field.⁷² The new strategy marks a shift from previous United Nations efforts, which predominantly prioritized the reputation of United Nations organizations, operational effectiveness and the conduct and discipline of perpetrators, towards the prioritization of the rights and dignity of those harmed by sexual exploitation and abuse.⁷³

69. A/70/729, para. 76. ↩
70. A/71/818 and A/71/818/Corr.1, para. 13. ↩
71. Ibid., para. 27. ↩
72. Ibid., para. 30. ↩
73. Connors, Jane, “The imperative of prioritizing victims’ rights”, in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid: Critiquing the Past, Plotting the Future, Westendorf, Jasmine-Kim and Dolan-Evans, Elliot, eds. (Bristol, Bristol University Press, 2024), p. 94. ↩

In 2019, the High-level Steering Group on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse endorsed the United Nations protocol on the provision of assistance to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, which elaborated a common set of norms and standards on the provision of assistance and support and prioritized the rights and dignity of victims, regardless of the affiliation of the alleged perpetrator. With regard to children, the protocol stated that, as a principle, assistance and support to child victims should be provided in a manner consistent with the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular the best interests of the child.⁷⁴ Following the elaboration of the protocol, in 2021, UNICEF in collaboration with the Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate, the Conduct and Discipline Service, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Population Fund, the International Organization for Migration and IASC developed a technical note on the implementation of the protocol,⁷⁵ with a specific section dedicated to child victims of sexual abuse. UNICEF has conducted training sessions on the protocol and disseminated the technical note for humanitarian country teams, United Nations country teams and inter-agency networks on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse in a total of 20 countries in 2024. These training efforts aimed to strengthen inter-agency procedures and a coordinated system-wide approach on the provision of victim assistance. As a result, an increasing number of countries now have established and operationalized inter-agency procedures to ensure that victim assistance is accessible, timely and centred on the victims, in line with the protocol.⁷⁶

74. United Nations protocol on the provision of assistance to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse (2019), para. 6.1, available at https://www.un.org/en/pdfs/UN%20Victim%20Assistance%20Protocol_English_Final.pdf. ↩
75. See https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Technical%20Note_UN%20Victims%20Assistance%20Protocol%20%28ENG%29%202021_final.pdf. ↩
76. Submission from UNICEF. ↩

In 2023, the Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate developed a victims’ rights statement, which was endorsed by the High-level Steering Group on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse.⁷⁷ The statement is based on the principles of prioritization of victims’ rights, needs, safety and dignity; the right not to be judged, blamed or held responsible for the harm suffered; the right to receive assistance and support for well-being and recovery; and the right to non-discrimination. The statement is designed to empower victims by setting out their rights and entitlements in simple terms and underlining the responsibilities of staff and implementing partners.⁷⁸

77. Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate, “Your rights as a victim of sexual exploitation or abuse committed by United Nations staff or related personnel” (2023). ↩
78. Connors, “The imperative of prioritizing victims’ rights”, in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid, Westendorf and Dolan-Evans, eds., (2024), p. 100. ↩

The establishment of system-wide frameworks, policies and procedures demonstrate undeniable efforts on the part of the United Nations system to combat sexual exploitation and abuse. However, the offence of child sexual abuse persists, in particular in the peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. The following gaps have been identified that limit the effective response to combating the sexual abuse of children within these contexts.

United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian missions and their implementing partners often deal with emergencies and life-saving operations, whereby priority is generally given to immediate life-saving assistance, such as food, shelter and medical care. The protection of children’s rights, especially against sexual abuse, is usually not seen as a priority in such circumstances.⁷⁹

79. Submissions from World Health Organization (WHO), Ecuador and Ireland. ↩

Sexual exploitation and abuse, whether involving children or adults, remain vastly underreported in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. Underreporting, which is particularly acute when it involves children, is a result of the unique barriers they face in accessing and using reporting mechanisms.⁸⁰ Oftentimes, there are inadequate reporting mechanisms, with no confidential and child-friendly structures in place allowing child victims to feel that they can safely report abuses.⁸¹

80. Submissions from UNICEF and WHO. ↩
81. Submissions from Cohen et al., ECPAT International and State of Palestine. ↩

Children and their families often fear retaliation or societal stigma or are fully dependent on aid provided by the organization employing perpetrators of sexual abuse, which may discourage them from speaking out about violations.⁸² Moreover, distrust of the United Nations, whose personnel or implementing partners have perpetrated the abuse against them, exacerbates their reluctance to report.⁸³ In many cases, there have been little or no judicial consequences for the perpetrators of abuse, sending the message to victims that there will be no real repercussions for the perpetrators in any case.⁸⁴ All of these factors foster a culture of silence among victims and therefore a culture of impunity among perpetrators.

82. Submissions from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, UNMISS, WHO, and State of Palestine. ↩
83. Submissions from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights and ECPAT International. ↩
84. Submission from Fundación para la democracia. ↩

In providing support and assistance to child victims, immediate care such as medical services, psychosocial support and counselling, shelter and security measures are of paramount importance. However, in many instances after an incident occurs and is reported to the United Nations, child victims do not receive the necessary support.⁸⁵ Moreover, little to no effort is made to allocate resources for long-term care and rehabilitation, including education, vocational training and social reintegration support, which are crucial to reduce the social exclusion of victims and to promote their recovery, empowerment and reintegration into society.⁸⁶

85. Submission from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights; Office of Internal Oversight Services, Evaluation Report: Evaluation of the Enforcement and Remedial Assistance Efforts for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by the United Nations and Related Personnel in Peacekeeping Operations (2015), para. 57; and A/71/99, para. 11. ↩
86. Submissions from UNICEF, El Salvador and State of Palestine. ↩

Child victims and their children born as a result of sexual abuse are often left without recourse, especially when alleged perpetrators return to their home countries. Traditional gender-based violence and child protection services in the country are often not equipped to meet the specialized needs of children in such cases, including legal assistance to deal with transnational paternity claims and tailored psychosocial care. Where victims do pursue paternity and child support claims, processes leading to court rulings are often significantly delayed. Only a fraction of cases concerning paternity and child support claims have been resolved. It is notable that 75 per cent of paternity and/or child support claims related to peace missions in Haiti have been pending for over 10 years.⁸⁷

87. A/78/774, para. 54. ↩

Troop-contributing countries maintain exclusive jurisdiction over their military personnel for criminal offences committed in host country,⁸⁸ which makes it difficult for child victims to access justice. This means that the United Nations, the host country and the victims have limited legal recourse if the troop-contributing country chooses not to exercise its jurisdiction. Where a troop-contributing country chooses to follow up on the allegations of sexual abuse against children, the United Nations still has a limited role to play, even when the accountability process is flawed, or the process lacks transparency. The child victims and the local population do not receive any information or updates if the perpetrators are investigated and prosecuted, leading to a distinct perception that perpetrators can act with impunity.⁸⁹ In turn, this discourages victims from reporting allegations of sexual abuse in the future.

88. See model status-of-forces agreement between the United Nations and host countries, A/45/594, annex, para. 47 (b); and A/61/19 (Part III), annex, art. 7 quinquiens, para. 1. ↩
89. A/71/99, para. 66; and Rosa Freedman, “UNaccountable: a new approach to peacekeepers and sexual abuse”, European Journal of International Law, vol. 29, No. 3 (2018), p. 969. ↩

The vast majority of personnel have functional immunity, which means they are only immune from legal process for actions performed as part of their official duties.⁹⁰ Nevertheless, the sexual abuse of children is a grievous crime in any context and United Nations officials or personnel should not be protected by functional, personal or diplomatic immunity. In general, the United Nations usually determines, on a case-by-case basis, whether an alleged offence involves criminal behaviour and whether immunity will apply for that specific offence. As a result, since United Nations personnel are shielded from legal processes in the host country until the assessment by the Organization is completed,⁹¹ there are delays in the criminal investigation process.

90. Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, art. V, sect. 18 (a). ↩
91. REDRESS and Child Rights International Network, Litigating Peacekeeper Child Sexual Abuse, p. 15; and Freedman, “UNaccountable”, p. 967. ↩

It is important to note that when the legal system of a host country is nonfunctional, as is the case with many countries in crisis situations, and does not satisfy minimum international human rights standards, including the right to a fair trial, the United Nations does not waive the immunity of civilian staff members, given its obligation to uphold, promote and respect human rights.⁹² In such cases, United Nations civilian personnel can be prosecuted by their home States, although only if their country has legislation that asserts extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction for the particular actions and sufficient evidence can be gathered, both of which are not always the case.⁹³ The 2024 report by the Secretary-General showed that, since 2008, in relation to allegations of sexual abuse of children by United Nations civilian personnel, many Member States still have not informed the United Nations of any action taken to pursue accountability.⁹⁴

92. A/59/710, para. 87. ↩
93. Freedman, “UNaccountable”, p. 972; and submission from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - Extension, Research and Moot Court Group in International Law and Human Rights. ↩
94. A/79/189, annex I. ↩

There is a limited number of trained and experienced investigators that handle cases of child sexual abuse. Inexperienced investigators, often with limited training on how to interview child victims, may conduct multiple interviews with child victims and end up compromising their confidentiality and subjecting them to retraumatization.⁹⁵ The challenge in obtaining the necessary evidence in cases of sexual exploitation and abuse is another cause for concern in pursuing accountability. Witness evidence can be difficult to secure owing to the frequent movement of people in emergency settings and the quality and admissibility of witness statements collected during initial interviews vary greatly.⁹⁶ This challenge is exacerbated by the departure, rotation or repatriation of alleged perpetrators before investigations are completed as DNA samples from perpetrators are required evidence.⁹⁷ DNA evidence is particularly necessary in cases of children born out of sexual abuse in order to establish paternity claims and the lack of DNA evidence makes such claims even more difficult to make and renders accountability processes elusive.

95. Submission from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights. ↩
96. Westendorf, J. K. and Dolan-Evans, E. (eds.), Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid, p. 4. ↩
97. Ibid.; see also submission from Morocco. ↩

A human rights-based approach requires the development of holistic strategies that address the occurrence of sexual exploitation and abuse and the root causes and consequences of such acts.⁹⁸ With regard to children specifically, organizations must ensure that they are well-prepared and able to prevent, investigate and respond to child sexual abuse by strengthening their approach to child rights, putting the needs, rights and agency of child victims at the forefront of all interventions and ensuring their safety, dignity and empowerment.⁹⁹ Policy, procedure and individual interventions should be developed with advance consideration of the possible negative or positive consequences for children, in line with the best interests of the child.¹⁰⁰ All United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, including their implementing partners, must integrate child rights principles into organizational policies, making a child rights-based approach a foundational component of all missions,¹⁰¹ and, more specifically, include policies and procedures that safeguard children, adapted to local contexts, to address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children in all their diversity in relation to sexual, physical or emotional abuse and other types of harm.¹⁰² The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action¹⁰³ could provide guidance in this effort.

98. United Nations, “Policy on integrating a human rights-based approach to UN efforts to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse” (2021), para. 10, available at https://www.un.org/preventing-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse/sites/www.un.org.preventing-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse/files/policy_on_integrating_a_human_rights-based_approach_to_un_efforts_to_prevent_and_respond_to_sea.pdf. ↩
99. Submissions from International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, World Vision East Asia Regional Office and Ecuador. ↩
100. United Nations, “Policy on integrating a human rights-based approach to United Nations efforts to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse”, annex. ↩
101. Submission from State of Palestine. ↩
102. Blakemore, Sarah, Freedman, Rosa, and Lemay-Hébert, Nicolas, “Child safeguarding in a peacekeeping context: lessons from Liberia”, Development in Practice, vol. 29, No. 6 (2019), p. 744. ↩
103. Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (2019). ↩

Children are not merely the beneficiaries of protection, but also rightsholders with agency and the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them.¹⁰⁴ Their voices need to be heard and their perspectives understood. A child rights-based approach should therefore respect the individual experiences of child victims and include them in all decision-making processes affecting them, notably the type of care and the support they receive according to their age, level of maturity and evolving capacity, while protecting their privacy.¹⁰⁵ As underlined by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the experience of violence, including sexual abuse, is inherently disempowering, which means that sensitive measures are needed to ensure that child protection interventions do not further disempower the victims but rather contribute positively to their recovery and reintegration.¹⁰⁶

104. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 12. ↩
105. Submissions from ECPAT International, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Population Council, World Vision East Asia Regional Office, Ecuador and the State of Palestine. ↩
106. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 13 (2011), para. 63. ↩

As a core focus of all efforts to address sexual abuse of children, prevention strategies must be multifaceted and grounded in community-based approaches. As noted above (sect. III. D), engaging communities is essential to addressing the root causes of sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. Such a holistic approach requires a significant investment in building trust with affected populations and the creation of environments where sexual exploitation and abuse are less likely to occur.¹⁰⁷ Partnerships with local organizations and community leaders can also build culturally sensitive, context-specific programmes on child rights and protection.¹⁰⁸ For example, in Mali, female representatives of an NGO leverage weekly gatherings of women to discuss child safeguarding, complaint mechanisms in cases of concern against humanitarian workers and protection issues, including sexual abuse.¹⁰⁹ This strategy is effective in raising awareness, increasing community engagement and fostering local ownership of child safeguarding efforts.

107. Submissions from UNICEF and Population Council. ↩
108. Submission from World Vision East Asia Regional Office. ↩
109. Submission from Islamic Relief. ↩

Children should receive education about their rights, about what constitutes sexual exploitation and abuse and about support and reporting channels available to them, which would empower them to seek help and assert their rights.¹¹⁰ Human rights information campaigns targeting children and their families should be intensified to raise awareness on sexual exploitation and abuse in a language accessible to and appropriate for children.¹¹¹ For example, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) partnered with religious leaders and a community radio station to conduct talk shows discussing how and where to report sexual exploitation and abuse involving United Nations personnel.¹¹²

110. Submissions from, UNICEF, WHO, Guatemala and the State of Palestine. ↩
111. Submissions from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, Guatemala and Qatar. ↩
112. Stern, Jenna, “Reducing sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping: ten years after the Zeid Report”, Civilians in Conflict, Policy Brief No. 1 (Washington, D.C., Stimson Center, 2015), p. 13. ↩

The deployment of personnel who have committed, or are at risk of committing, serious human rights violations, including sexual exploitation and abuse, undermine the very purpose of peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. The United Nations, along with its agencies, funds and programmes and jointly with troop-contributing countries, where relevant, must continue to undertake rigorous and strict vetting and screening mechanisms with a view to excluding individuals who have committed human rights violations and deterring anyone who may present a risk to children and their communities from working in peacekeeping.¹¹³ The ClearCheck screening database, which became operational in 2018, is a highly secure online platform on a centralized database that allows United Nations entities to share information system-wide on individuals with allegations related to sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment, with the aim of preventing their reemployment within the United Nations system.¹¹⁴ As at 1 December 2024, 40 United Nations entities have participated in ClearCheck.¹¹⁵

113. A/79/553, para. 131; and submission from Ireland. ↩
114. United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, “Screening database ‘ClearCheck’”, available at https://unsceb.org/screening-database-clearcheck. ↩
115. “Factsheet on ClearCheck”, 1 December 2024, available at https://unsceb.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/ClearCheck%20Factsheet%20%5B1%20December%202024%5D.pdf. ↩

Mandatory training programmes of all United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel and their implementing partners before and during assignments should have a specific child-safeguarding component, including the prohibition of sexual abuse of children.¹¹⁶ The content and frequency of training programmes on child sexual abuse should be tailored to what the Organization does, where and how it operates, and the diverse ways in which it and its employees, contractors and partners interact with children.¹¹⁷ They should emphasize the serious consequences that will confront personnel who engage in prohibited acts or who fail to report suspected instances of sexual exploitation and abuse by their colleagues.¹¹⁸ They should be context specific, identifying the types of behaviour that occur frequently in the community and children who are at risk of sexual abuse and covering what the best interests of the child mean in the context of sexual abuse.¹¹⁹

116. Submission from Keeping Children Safe. ↩
117. Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, p. 27. ↩
118. A/71/99, para. 278. ↩
119. Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, p. 31. ↩

Donors have an important role to play in providing voluntary contributions for initiatives on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and in integrating enhanced due diligence requirements into their funding agreements. For example, in 2019, the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development adopted a recommendation that sets out the first international standard of its kind on how to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.¹²⁰ It was intended for governments, in their capacity as donors, to apply to national aid agencies and the wider international community when working with civil society, charities and other bodies delivering humanitarian or aid programmes. Donors could also contribute to reporting and data collection on sexual abuse of children by demystifying the concerns that funding may be cut off if there is an increase in reports of incidents of sexual abuse.¹²¹

120. OECD, DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance: Key Pillars of Prevention and Response, available at https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-5020#mainText. ↩
121. Submission from Ireland. ↩

The reporting of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse is crucial to hold perpetrators accountable and ensure that survivors receive the necessary support. The entities of the United Nations system, together with Member States, must establish accessible, contextually-appropriate, child-friendly reporting mechanisms that are tailored to children’s unique needs and vulnerabilities and allow them to disclose sexual abuse safely and provide protection from retaliation.¹²² Engaging the community in this effort is crucial in order to build safe and effective community-based complaint mechanisms, which tend to be more trusted by the community and better adapted to local cultural contexts.¹²³ This means that trusted community actors, who should be trained to identify the abuse of children and to appropriately support children who are victims of such offences, receive complaints from community members, including child victims and their family members, and forward them to the relevant entity of the United Nations system or mechanism for follow-up.¹²⁴ In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, local women leaders who served as focal points on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse promoted community-based face-to-face reporting channels across 15 provinces in the country. More than 1.5 million people accessed safe reporting channels in 2023, including an estimated of 873,248 children.¹²⁵

122. CRC/C/HTI/CO/2-3, para. 35 (a); and submissions from UNICEF, El Salvador, Ireland, Morocco and the State of Palestine. ↩
123. IASC, Guidelines: Inter-Agency Community-Based Complaint Mechanisms – Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (Geneva, IOM, 2016), pp. 19–23; and Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, p. 34. ↩
124. Submissions from UNICEF and the Population Council. ↩
125. Submission from UNICEF. ↩

Irrespective of efforts to establish child-friendly reporting mechanisms, there is a need for the United Nations to take a proactive approach in responding to allegations of the sexual abuse of children. As a start, the United Nations should establish protocols that take proper account of non-specific allegations, which are often a warning sign of a breakdown in discipline or possible misconduct. It should also put in place an early warning system to detect sexual abuse of children and heightened risks of sexual abuse.¹²⁶ For example, in 2022, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and on behalf of IASC, developed a Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Risk Overview, a composite index that presents indicators on a range of different factors that can influence the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse.¹²⁷ By categorizing countries with ongoing humanitarian response operations according to their level of risk, the index helps the members of IASC and donors to make informed decisions on allocating limited humanitarian resources towards priority issues and countries of concern.

126. Justice Rapid Response, Investigating Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, pp. 14 and 34. ↩
127. Submission from UNICEF; and IASC, “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Risk Overview”, available at https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-sea-risk-overview-index. ↩

Child victims have the right to reparations in order to achieve full redress, reintegration and recovery.¹²⁸ Reparation measures, which can include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, should be proportional to the gravity of the violations and the harm suffered by the child victims and survivors.¹²⁹ However, especially in countries emerging from conflict and humanitarian crises, victims often do not have any access to remedy. In recognition of this difficulty, and in line with its human rights obligation to protect victims, the United Nations must accompany the victims to support them as they go through the healing process and rebuild their lives.¹³⁰ The notion of accountability must encompass not only accountability of the perpetrator but also accountability to the victim – providing victims with support and assistance is crucial.¹³¹

128. Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, para. 35; see also the report of the Special Rapporteur on reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation (A/HRC/52/31). ↩
129. General Assembly resolution 60/147, annex, principles 15 and 18. ↩
130. A/71/818 and A/71/818/Corr.1, para. 21. ↩
131. Connors, “The imperative of prioritizing victims’ rights”, p. 103. ↩

The United Nations must ensure that child victims of sexual abuse and children born out of sexual abuse have access to the trust fund established by the Secretary-General, regardless of the categories of the perpetrators.¹³² While the trust fund is not intended to compensate victims in the form of reparations, it should assist in the provision of the specialized services that child victims require, including safety and protection plans, medical care, psychosocial support, education, livelihood support, basic material assistance and legal services.¹³³

132. A/71/99, para. 253. ↩
133. United Nations protocol on the provision of assistance to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, paras. 8.1–8.2. ↩

The World Health Organization (WHO) through its partners and in collaboration with the Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate supports children born as a result of sexual exploitation and abuse by providing medical and psycho-social support, nutrition, education, including support for the assertion of paternity claims, including DNA testing, and subsequent rights to the nationality of the father.¹³⁴ For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO has provided free legal aid to children claimed to be born as a result of sexual exploitation and abuse. The aid provided has been instrumental in getting local tribunals to issue birth certificates for those children so that they can take part in community life and obtain an education, in line with their best interest.¹³⁵

134. Submission from WHO. ↩
135. Ibid. ↩

Robust and effective accountability measures are indispensable to prevent sexual abuse of children by United Nations and related personnel. It is only by seeing that such crimes will be met with accountability measures, including criminal prosecution, that United Nations civilian and military personnel will begin to take the zero-tolerance policy seriously.

Under the current frameworks, investigations of allegations sexual abuse of children involve many actors and are heavily process-oriented, requiring extensive, time-consuming referrals both within the United Nations and with Member States.¹³⁶ In peacekeeping contexts, for example, depending on the category of personnel – military, police or civilian – different laws apply to each category and a mosaic of entities is involved in the investigation process.¹³⁷ To ensure one standard of justice for all those accused of sexual offences in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts, especially the grievous crime of sexual abuse of children, an independent accountability mechanism should be established.¹³⁸ For example, a legal body, in the form of a special court mechanism, could be authorized to investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse offences by United Nations and affiliated personnel, including military personnel where their home countries are unable or unwilling to do so. The mechanism would operate based on due process procedures established by its statute as agreed to by States Members of the United Nations. The mechanism would be equipped with a trained team with experience in investigating acts of sexual violence, especially those involving children.¹³⁹

136. Office of Internal Oversight Services, Evaluation Report, para. 9. ↩
137. OIOS, Evaluation Report, para. 9, see also Freedman, “UNaccountable”, p. 965. ↩
138. AIDS-Free World, Code Blue Campaign (2015); AIDS-Free World, “A proposal for independent accountability for sexual exploitation and abuse committed by United Nations personnel” (2018), para. 34, available at https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/89018/pdf/; submission from Cohen et al.; and Naik, Asmita and Westendorf, Jasmine-Kim, “Missing the mark in PSEA”, in Sexual Exploitation in Peacekeeping and Aid, Westendorf and Dolan-Evans, eds. (2024), p. 80. ↩
139. A/71/99, paras. 247–248. ↩

The proposed special court mechanism would receive and process all allegations of sexual abuse of children.¹⁴⁰ Upon receipt of complaints, the mechanism could undertake a rapid, initial fact-finding exercise, including assessing questions related to immunity, where relevant. In the case of allegations against civilian United Nations personnel, the mechanism could conduct criminal investigations, collect evidence in a way that respects the specific needs of the child victims and witnesses and preserve evidence in a manner that will pass the scrutiny of a judicial process and, if warranted, prosecute the alleged perpetrators. In the case of allegations against military personnel, the mechanism could refer the cases to troop-contributing countries.

140. AIDS-Free World (2015); see also AIDS-Free World, “A proposal for independent accountability”, para. 35. ↩

To address the gap in impunity that arises as a result of the unwillingness or inability of some troop-contributing countries to exercise their jurisdiction in a timely manner, the status-of-forces agreements between the United Nations and the troop-contributing countries, both for troops under and not under its command, should establish that troop-contributing countries hold primary – but not exclusive – jurisdiction over crimes of sexual abuse of children committed in the host countries.¹⁴¹ If troop-contributing countries, who have the primary jurisdiction, fail to take prompt action to investigate the allegations and prosecute suspects within a specified period, they would be deemed to have waived their primary jurisdiction. The special court mechanism would then step in.

141. A/71/99, paras. 261–262; and Agreement between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the status of their forces (1951). ↩

Ensuring that the victims and communities are fully and regularly apprised of accountability measures will help restore their trust in the integrity of United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. To that end, the special court mechanism would be activated on location,¹⁴² ensuring that child victims have their right to participate, in accordance with their wishes and evolving capacity, in the judicial process. Troop-contributing countries choosing to exercise their jurisdiction must promptly inform the United Nations of the measures that have been implemented to investigate or prosecute the alleged perpetrators. Troop-contributing countries must comply with this requirement. The United Nations will communicate to the child victims, their families and the local population the progress and outcome of any proceedings.

142. AIDS-Free World, “A proposal for independent accountability”, para. 36. ↩

Child victims of sexual abuse require access to information on their legal rights, in line with the child’s age and maturity, in a language that the child can understand and in a manner that is gender-and culture-sensitive. They should have access to legal representatives who can provide them with impartial advice and represent their interests in legal proceedings should they choose to engage in the justice process. Investigation of child sexual abuse allegations must be undertaken with a child rights-based and child-sensitive approach by qualified professionals who have received comprehensive training.¹⁴³ For example, special procedures for the collection of evidence from child victims and witnesses should be implemented in order to reduce the number of interviews, statements, hearings and, specifically, unnecessary contact with the justice process.¹⁴⁴ Extreme care must be taken to avoid subjecting the child to further harm through the investigation process.¹⁴⁵

143. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 13 (2011), para. 51. ↩
144. Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, para. 31. ↩
145. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 13 (2011), para. 51. ↩

All children should be treated as capable witnesses, subject to examination, irrespective of age, as long as their age and maturity allow them to give intelligible and credible testimony.¹⁴⁶ Where positive identification of those accused cannot be achieved through traditional methods, the mechanism must have access to modern techniques of forensic identification, including fingerprinting, fibre analysis and blood and DNA testing.¹⁴⁷ One way to facilitate the process is by including a provision in the model memorandum of understanding stipulating that, prior to deploying any military personnel, troop-contributing countries will obtain their DNA for purposes of exoneration or conviction of individuals accused of sexual exploitation and abuse.¹⁴⁸

146. Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, para. 18. ↩
147. A/59/710, paras. 31–32. ↩
148. A/71/818 and A/71/818/Corr.1, para. 59 (b) (xiii). ↩

Sexual abuse of children perpetrated by United Nations staff and related personnel in conflict or crisis settings is not and should not be considered a mere disciplinary matter. It is a fundamental protection failure, a serious crime and a grievous violation of the human rights of one of the most vulnerable groups of people by those mandated to serve and protect them. Regardless of the category of the perpetrators, the United Nations has an obligation to protect victims, investigate incidents, report and follow up on human rights violations and take measures to hold perpetrators accountable, in line with its human rights mandate as rooted in the Charter of the United Nations.

Over the past decades, the United Nations has undertaken many reforms to address the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse, from adopting a zero-tolerance policy to putting victims’ rights and dignity at the centre of all responses. Despite this significant progress, child sexual abuse cases continue to persist in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. The lack of a child rights-based approach and elusive accountability processes are some of the gaps that exist in the response of the Organization to the sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts.

In the light of children’s specific needs and vulnerabilities, it is crucial to integrate a child rights-based approach into all strategies to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse, putting the needs, the rights and the agency of children at the centre of all efforts. There is an urgent need to strengthen child safeguarding in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts by systematically taking stock of and addressing current gaps. In order to support internal accountability, such a process calls for due coordination and oversight.

Strengthening preventive measures should include the fostering of local ownership of child safeguarding efforts, empowering children about their human rights and including specific child rights and child safeguarding components in all mandatory training programmes for United Nations staff and related personnel. Community-based reporting mechanisms should be accessible and child-friendly. Support provided to child victims – and their children born as a result of sexual abuse – must be tailored to their needs, both immediate and long term, to enable them to heal and rebuild their lives in a safe and resilient environment.

One of the most important ways to prevent future instances of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers or humanitarian workers is by holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. The zero-tolerance policy will only become a reality when all United Nations and affiliated personnel see that such crimes will be met with criminal prosecution, without exception. However, the intersections of jurisdictional issues, different legal systems, international law, immunity and the lack of clarity, capacity and political will render the pursuit of accountability extremely complex and difficult. A serious effort is needed to address this shortcoming, including the establishment of an independent special court mechanism that would investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse offences committed by United Nations civilian and affiliated personnel and by military personnel where their countries are unable or unwilling to do so. This alternative will go a long way towards ensuring respect for human rights and due process and will allow victims and affected communities a greater ability to hold perpetrators accountable.

It is a fundamental betrayal of trust when peacekeepers or humanitarian workers sexually abuse children, who are already suffering the consequences of the conflict or crisis and who are the very people they have been sent to protect. That betrayal is compounded when the international community fails to care for child victims and their children or to hold the perpetrators accountable. All stakeholders in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts have an important responsibility to undertake renewed efforts to ensure proper mechanisms for preventing and responding to sexual abuse of children effectively and justly.

To combat sexual abuse of children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:

Entities of the United Nations system
(a) Integrate a child rights-based approach into organizational policies and establish robust child-safeguarding policies as an utmost priority, adapted to local contexts, in all peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations;
(b) Undertake a systematic stocktaking of and address the current gaps in the adoption of a child rights-based approach, with due coordination and oversight to support internal accountability, for example, by the Office of the Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse;
(c) Involve children in decision-making processes relating to the type of care and the support they receive, according to their age, level of maturity and evolving capacity;
(d) Working closely with community-based NGOs, engage local communities in building culturally sensitive, context-specific programmes on child rights and protection, including raising awareness on the United Nations policy against sexual abuse and empowering children about their rights to be free from sexual abuse and what to do should it take place;
(e) Include specific-child safeguarding components, including the prohibition of sexual abuse of children, in the training for peacekeepers and humanitarian workers, both prior to deployment and during assignments;
(f) Establish accessible, contextually appropriate, child-friendly reporting mechanisms to enable children to make complaints in a safe and confidential setting;
(g) Ensure that all personnel take allegations of sexual abuse of children seriously and duly report them for follow-up, exercising due regard for confidentiality and the do-no-harm principle;
(h) Put in place an early warning system to detect sexual abuse of children and heightened risks of such instances;
(i) Provide adequate assistance and referrals for services in a way that addresses the specific needs and vulnerabilities of child victims of sexual abuse, including their children born as a result of such abuse, as relevant, both immediately and over the long term;
(j) Support and work with community-based NGOs to ensure an effective monitoring of sexual abuse incidences;
(k) Provide feedback to alleged child victims on their complaints regarding what actions have been taken as a result of their complaints and the outcomes of investigations and the prosecution of the complaints;
(l) Propose the establishment of a special court mechanism to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of children by United Nations civilian personnel and by military personnel in cases where troop-contributing countries are unable or unwilling to do so, and prosecute the perpetrators;
(m) Amend the model status-of-forces agreement and model memorandum of understanding to ensure that troop-contributing countries hold primary, not exclusive, jurisdiction with respect to crimes committed by their forces in the mission area;
(n) Amend the model status-of-forces agreement and model memorandum of understanding to provide that troop-contributing countries obtain the DNA of military personnel prior to deploying them for purposes of the exoneration or conviction of individuals accused of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Troop-contributing countries
(a) Take necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of sexual abuse of children by their military personnel, including through adequate and effective training and screening;
(b) Ensure that there is no impunity for military members of their contingents who perpetrate acts of sexual abuse of children;
(c) Where needed, reform relevant national legislation to allow for the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse crime committed by their nationals and, more specifically, peacekeepers overseas;
(d) Agree with the amendment of the model status-of-forces agreement and model memorandum of understanding to provide that troop-contributing countries hold primary, not exclusive, jurisdiction with respect to crimes committed by their forces in the mission area;
(e) Ensure that, when they choose to exercise their jurisdiction, all investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases by their military personnel are conducted with a child rights-based and child-sensitive approach by qualified professionals, taking into account the best interests of the children, irrespective of their nationality;
(f) Ensure that the penalties against those found responsible reflect the gravity of the offence, in compliance with international standards of fair trial and due process;
(g) Provide support, including legal support, to child victims of sexual abuse in bringing forward paternity claims in their domestic courts and in achieving enforcement of the decisions on their claims;
(h) Maintain transparency over accountability processes and keep the United Nations and the victims informed of any progress and decisions in order to demonstrate that there is no impunity;
(i) Support the amendment of the model status-of-forces agreement and model memorandum of understanding to provide that troop-contributing countries obtain the DNA of military personnel prior to deploying them for purposes of exoneration or conviction of individuals accused of sexual exploitation and abuse and ensure its implementation.

States Members of the United Nations
(a) Make contributions to the trust fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in order to provide comprehensive assistance tailored to the needs of the child victims and their children born as a result of sexual abuse;
(b) Authorize, through a General Assembly resolution, the establishment of a special court mechanism to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of children by United Nations civilian personnel and military personnel, where troop-contributing countries are unable or unwilling to do so, and prosecute the perpetrators;
(c) Equip the mechanism with professional investigators trained and experienced in investigating child sexual abuse cases, including in ensuring child-friendly procedures throughout the justice processes.

Donors
(a) Provide peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations with the funds they need to take action to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of children;
(b) Make contributions to the trust fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in order to provide comprehensive assistance tailored to the needs of the child victims and their children;
(c) Integrate due diligence requirements for child safeguarding policies and procedures, including on how to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of children, into their funding agreements with relevant peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations;
(d) Encourage organizational reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse cases as part of the efforts to combat the sexual abuse of children.