VZCZCXYZ0025
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0988/01 3131918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091918Z NOV 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3035

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000988 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST: SIXTH COMMITTEE DRAFT RESOLUTION 
ON CRIMINAL ACCOUNTABILITY 
 
REF: A. USUN 790 
     ¶B. USUN 900 
 
¶1. ACTION REQUEST: USUN requests instructions from the 
Department to join consensus on the Sixth Committee's draft 
resolution on Criminal accountability of UN officials and 
experts on mission (agenda item 80) contained in para 3, or 
substantially similar text.  The text of all draft 
resolutions must be tabled before the Sixth Committee by 
November 9.  USUN expects the Sixth Committee to take action 
on draft resolutions shortly thereafter.  USUN point of 
contact for this resolution is James Donovan, (212) 415-4300, 
DonovanJB@state.gov.  END ACTION REQUEST. 
 
¶2. BACKGROUND/COMMENT:  The text in para 3 incorporates 
elements of the short-term measures recommended by the 
Secretariat (reftels) to address criminal accountability. 
 
SIPDIS 
The Sixth Committee has proposed this item for inclusion in 
next year's agenda in the context of a Working Group to 
review the legal aspects of the issue, to hear views of 
Member States and to analyze information from the 
Secretariat.  As to PP6, language on the right of the host 
 
SIPDIS 
State to exercise jurisdiction was caveated to read "where 
applicable", as USUN requested.  Language concerning the 
extension of criminal jurisdiction of the sending State and 
dual criminality in OP3 was redacted to read "at least where 
the conduct as defined in the law of the sending State 
establishing jurisdiction also constitutes a crime under the 
laws of the host State."  As to terminology, the Committee 
used the term "crimes of a serious nature" to denote crimes 
that would fall within the scope of the resolution.  OP9 
requires the Secretarty-General to bring more information to 
light regarding the extent of the problem by making States 
aware of crimes committed by their nationals on mission, 
determining what technical assistance States may wish to 
receive on the matter, and monitoring States' efforts to 
investigate and prosecute such crimes.  END 
BACKGROUND/COMMENT. 
 
¶3. Text of draft resolution on Criminal accountability of UN 
officials and experts on mission: 
 
BEGIN TEXT: 
 
Sixty-second session 
Sixth Committee 
Agenda Item 80 
 
Draft Resolution 
Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and 
experts on mission 
 
The General Assembly, 
 
Recalling its resolution 59/281 of 29 March 2005, in which it 
endorsed the recommendation in paragraph 56 of the report of 
the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations that the 
Secretary-General make available to the United Nations 
 
SIPDIS 
membership a comprehensive report on the issue of sexual 
exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping 
operations, 
 
Noting that the Secretary-General, on 24 March 2005, 
transmitted to the President of the General Assembly a report 
of his Adviser concerning sexual exploitation and abuse by 
United Nations peacekeeping personnel, 
 
Recalling its resolution 59/300 of 22 June 2005 endorsing the 
recommendation of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping 
Operations that a group of legal experts be established to 
provide advice on the best way to proceed so as to ensure 
that the original intent of the Charter of the United Nations 
can be achieved, namely that United Nations staff and experts 
on mission would never be effectively exempt from the 
consequences of criminal acts committed at their duty 
station, nor unjustly penalized without due process, 
 
Reaffirming the need to promote and ensure respect for the 
principles and rules of international law, 
Reaffirming that the present resolution is without prejudice 
to the privileges and immunities of United Nations officials 
and experts on mission and the United Nations under 
international law, 
 
Reaffirming also the obligation of United Nations officials 
and experts on mission to respect the national laws of the 
host State, as well as the right of the host State to 
exercise, where applicable, its criminal jurisdiction, in 
accordance with the relevant rules of international law and 
agreements governing operations of United Nations missions, 
 
Deeply concerned by reports of criminal conduct, and 
conscious that such conduct, if not investigated and, as 
 
 
appropriate, prosecuted, would create the negative impression 
that United Nations officials and experts on mission operate 
with impunity, 
 
Conscious of the importance of protecting the rights of 
victims of criminal conduct, as well as ensuring adequate 
protection for witnesses, and noting also the work of the Ad 
Hoc Open-ended Working Group on assistance and support to 
victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, 
 
Recalling its resolution 61/29 of 4 December 2006, 
establishing the Ad Hoc Committee on criminal accountability 
of United Nations officials and experts on mission, 
 
Noting that the Special Committee on Peace-keeping 
operations, in paragraph 75 of its Report, looks forward to 
the conclusions of the Ad Hoc Committee, 
 
Having considered the report of the Group of Legal Experts 
established by the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 
59/300, the report of the Ad Hoc Committee, as well as the 
Note by the Secretariat on criminal accountability of United 
Nations officials and experts on mission, 
 
Convinced of the need for the United Nations and its member 
States to urgently take strong and effective steps to ensure 
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 
behavior 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 pre-deployment 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 on 7, 8, 9 and 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 the sixty-third session; 
 
¶9. Requests also 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 on the status of their efforts to investigate and, 
as appropriate, prosecute crimes of a serious nature, as well 
as on the types of appropriate assistance States may wish to 
receive from the Secretariat for the purposes of such 
investigations and prosecutions; 
 
¶10. 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; 
 
¶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. 
 
END TEXT. 
Khalilzad