THIMUN 2010 resolution

FORUM: GA 6
QUESTION OF: Criminal Accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission
SUBMITTED BY: Nicaragua
The Government of Nicaragua,
Recalling that the Secretary-General transmitted a report of his Adviser to the President of the General Assembly on 24 March 2005 concerning sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeeping personnel;

Recalling the UN’s zero-tolerance policy towards crimes committed by its officials and resolution 59/281 of 29 March 2005 that the Secretary-General make available to the United Nations membership a comprehensive report on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations;

Recalling also the Report of the Group of Legal Experts on ensuring the accountability of United Nations staff and experts on mission with respect to criminal acts committed in peacekeeping operations (A/60/980 of 16 August 2006) and the report of the Sixth Committee (A/62/448 of 21 November 2007) on Criminal Accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission;


1. Expresses its appreciation for the work done by the Ad Hoc Committee
on criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission and
the Working Group of the Sixth Committee on the same subject;

2. Strongly urges States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that
crimes by United Nations officials and experts on mission do not go unpunished and
that the perpetrators of such crimes are brought to justice, without prejudice to the
privileges and immunities of such persons and the United Nations under
international law, and in accordance with international human rights standards,
including due process;

3. Strongly urges all States to consider establishing to the extent that they
have not yet done so jurisdiction, particularly over crimes of a serious nature, as
known in their existing domestic criminal laws, committed by their nationals while
serving as United Nations officials or experts on mission, at least where the conduct
as defined in the law of the State establishing jurisdiction also constitutes a crime
under the laws of the host State;

4. Encourages all States to cooperate with each other and with the United
Nations in the exchange of information and in facilitating the conduct of
investigations and, as appropriate, prosecution of United Nations officials and
experts on mission who are alleged to have committed crimes of a serious nature, in
accordance with their domestic laws and applicable United Nations rules and
regulations, fully respecting due process rights, as well as to consider strengthening
the capacities of their national authorities to investigate and prosecute such crimes;

5. Requests the Secretariat to ensure that requests to Member States seeking
personnel to serve as experts on mission make States aware of the expectation that
persons who serve in that capacity should meet high standards in their conduct and
behaviour and are aware that certain conduct may amount to a crime for which they
may be held accountable;

6. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to take such other practical
measures as are within his authority to strengthen existing training on United
Nations standards of conduct, including through predeployment and in-mission
induction training for United Nations officials and experts on mission;

7. Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee on criminal accountability of United
Nations officials and experts on mission shall reconvene from 7 to 9 and on 11 April
2008 for the purpose of continuing the consideration of the report of the Group of
Legal Experts, in particular its legal aspects, taking into account the views of
Member States and the information contained in the note by the Secretariat, and that the work shall continue during the sixty-third session of the General Assembly
within the framework of a working group of the Sixth Committee;

8. Requests the Ad Hoc Committee to submit a report on its work to the
General Assembly at its sixty-third session;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to bring credible allegations that reveal
that a crime may have been committed by United Nations officials and experts on
mission to the attention of the States against whose nationals such allegations are
made, and to request from those States an indication of the status of their efforts to
investigate and, as appropriate, prosecute crimes of a serious nature, as well as the
types of appropriate assistance States may wish to receive from the Secretariat for
the purposes of such investigations and prosecutions;

10. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at
its sixty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution on the basis of information received from Governments, in particular with respect to paragraphs 3 and 9 above;

11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third session the
item entitled “Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on
mission”.