Columbia International Affairs Online: Journals

CIAO DATE: 11/2013

Olivera Simic, Regulation of Sexual Conduct in UN Peacekeeping Operations (Berlin: Springer, 2012)

Central European University Political Science Journal

A publication of:
Central European University

Volume: 8, Issue: 2 (November 2013)


Rajeesh Kumar , Jawaharlal Nehru University

Abstract

Reports of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers were a black mark in the history of United Nations Peacekeeping. The metamorphosis of peacekeepers to perpetrators has been part of almost all the discussions on peacekeeping in the last two decades. In the 1990s the discussions centred on the absence of rules and procedures for preventing sexual exploitation by the peacekeepers. The discussions have forced the United Nations to make some regulatory measures to prevent such actions and to form laws to penalize peacekeepers who violate these codes of conduct. The culmination of all these developments was the formation of Secretary General’s Bulletin (SGB) commonly known as Zero Tolerance Policy (ZTP) in the year 2003. In the meantime, the discourse over the sexual exploitation has taken a new shape by debating pros and cons of the new rule.

Full Text

Reports of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers were a black mark in the history of United Nations Peacekeeping. The metamorphosis of peacekeepers to perpetrators has been part of almost all the discussions on peacekeeping in the last two decades. In the 1990s the discussions centred on the absence of rules and procedures for preventing sexual exploitation by the peacekeepers. The discussions have forced the United Nations to make some regulatory measures to prevent such actions and to form laws to penalize peacekeepers who violate these codes of conduct. The culmination of all these developments was the formation of Secretary General’s Bulletin (SGB) commonly known as Zero Tolerance Policy (ZTP) in the year 2003. In the meantime, the discourse over the sexual exploitation has taken a new shape by debating pros and cons of the new rule. Olivera Simic’sRegulation of Sexual Conduct in UN Peacekeeping Operations is a critique of United Nations response to sexual exploitation in Peacekeeping Operations. By dissecting the wording and provisions of SGB, the author tries to uncover the United Nations’ perception of sexual exploitation and SGB’s lack of differentiation between sexual exploitation and sexual relationship. Intended to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, the Zero Tolerance Policy openly bans all sexual activities including consensual sex between UN peacekeepers and local women. The book is also a feminist critique of common understanding of women as powerless and unequal in general and women as victims and peacekeepers as predators in the context of peacekeeping operations in particular. The book has seven chapters and provides a comprehensive understanding of a complex issue. The first three chapters provide conceptual and theoretical frameworks for the study through evaluating the institutional responses of the United Nations towards sexual exploitation in the context of peacekeeping, from ad-hoc missions to the Zero Tolerance Policy. The details of the historical development of peacekeeping operations, the development of rules and provisions against sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping operations, and also the profiling of peacekeepers are worthwhile in locating the empirical evidence of the study. The next chapter outlines the methodological framework for the empirical research and tries to locate the research in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The next two chapters analyze the opinions of the interviewees regarding all sexual relationships in peacekeeping operations against the backdrop of SGB. These twoBook Reviews 258 chapters evaluate the pros and cons of the SGB and interviewees responses towards the provisions of SGB. Finally, the book proposes a revision of SGB in consultation with people directly affected by its provisions. The book has put forth two central arguments. First, the United Nations’ responses towards sexual exploitation in peacekeeping operations are instrumental, based on gender stereotypes and a radical feminist approach. According to author, these responses are the outcomes of the notion that women are victims, powerless and unequal comparing with male peacekeepers. It also replicates the patriarchal language. Second, through prohibiting all sexual relationships including consensual sex between local women and peacekeepers, the SGB type casts local women and peacekeepers. The SGB also denies the sexual agency and autonomy of women and violates international human rights law. This over-inclusive, blanket ban of all sexual relationships between peacekeepers and local women will not be able to offer anything constructive to the local women rather than deepening their vulnerability. According to the author, the SGB has failed in distinguishing the difference between exploitative and non-exploitative sex. The heart of the book lies in the empirical evidence generated through a comprehensive but restricted and parsimonious field study and explaining this evidence with theoretical and conceptual thinking established in the first three chapters. The empirical studies points out that the United Nations’ response to sexual exploitation in peacekeeping operations, especially the SGB, ignore the lived experiences of women and peacekeepers, two groups directly affected by these policies. The methodology and research design, especiallythe qualitative interviews, the author applies in this study for explaining the lives of people are also worth mentioning. The author has employed one of the best methods to explain a sensitive and highly personal issue of sexual relationships. This methodology helps the author to provide an in-depth, comprehensive answer to the research question. Through investigating the experiences of Bosnian women and peacekeepers and analysing it against the backdrop of the provisions of SGB, the study utilizes the beauty of case study method in its limitation of generality. Simic has taken up a categorically challenging responsibility of finding interviewees, conducting interviews, and is successful in guaranteeing the confidentiality for the interviewees. By seeking the perceptions of local women and peacekeepers who engaged in sexual relationships in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Simic also succeeded in achieving the final goal of a research: value addition. The author deserves praise for daring to investigate such a complex issue of sexual agency and analysing it with the support of much side-stepped (in the field of international relations) ‘sex positive’ feminist approach. However, due to the complexity of the issue under concern, this work also has selected inevitable drawbacks. First, by arguing that the United Nations policiesCEU Political Science Journal. Vol. 8, No. 2 259 towards sexual conduct are imperial and colonial in nature, the author falls into the same category of age old critics of the United Nations that see the institution as a post-war agent with a “civilizing mission”. While talking about the sexual agency of women, the author fails to recognize the spokes of patriarchy in the reality of contemporary society, and contradicts herself by arguing that nation states have the right to make laws and norms for regulating prostitution. Since, the concept of ‘agency’ and ‘freedom’ are complex and subjective, and any generalization is impossible, it would be difficult to say with whom the final decision making power rests. Hence, for a global organization like the UN, it would be difficult (though not impossible) to produce norms and laws in consultation with each and every individual and society even ifit would be the best solution. By supporting a naïve argument that the prohibition of sexual exploitation would encourage racism, discrimination and stigmatization without evidence, the author sometimes fails to recall the quality of a researcher and value of a research work. Nonetheless, the book offers certain qualities in research design, methodology and provides a splendid explanation in its research findings. Taking the agency of women seriously through a ‘sex positive’ feminist approach, and questioning the general view of vulnerability of women in post-conflict societies, Simic offers an innovative and imaginative research critique of the United Nations’ perception and policies of sexual exploitation in peacekeeping. It proposes a contextual revisiting of United Nations policies for regulating sexual conduct in peacekeeping operations against the backdrop of new research findings. Therefore, this work is essential reading for students, scholars as well as practitioners and policy makers. It will undeniably contribute to the further research in this field.