Chapter I: International peace and security of personnel, including senior mission leadership. It requested that the Secretary-General swiftly implement the decisions on contractual arrangements and harmonization of conditions of service as a means of dealing with the high vacancy issue. It also requested that he continue to ensure greater use of national staff in peacekeeping operations. The Special Committee acknowledged that the interaction of UN military, police and civilian personnel with the local population was necessary for the efficiency and success of peacekeeping operations, and that language skills should constitute an important element of selection and training. It therefore urged dpko and dfs to recruit staff and experts on mission with language skills that were relevant to the mission area where they were to be deployed. Good command of the official language in the country should also be taken into account. Criminal accountability of UN staff and experts on mission Report of Secretary-General. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/119 [YUN 2008, p. 98], the Secretary-General, in July, submitted a report [A/64/183 & Add.1] on the criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission that provided information from Governments on the extent to which their laws established jurisdiction over serious crimes committed by their nationals while serving as UN officials or experts on mission, as well as information on cooperation among States and with the United Nations in the exchange of information and the facilitation of investigations and prosecution. The report also detailed recent Secretariat activities, including bringing credible allegations to the attention of the concerned State and providing training on UN standards of conduct before deployment and during a mission. Working Group consideration. On 23 October [A/C.6/64/SR.14], Maria Telalian (Greece), Chairperson of the Working Group on criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission [YUN 2008, p. 98], briefed the General Assembly Sixth Committee on the activities of the Working Group, which met on 13 and 15 October. Participants had exchanged views mainly on the question of whether it was timely and appropriate to start negotiations on a draft international convention on criminal accountability, as proposed by the Group of Legal Experts [YUN 2006, p. 109]. Some delegations held that a binding legal instrument would constitute a solid legal basis for establishing criminal jurisdiction by the State of nationality of the alleged offender, so as to eliminate potential jurisdictional gaps, and for enhancing cooperation among States and between States and the United
95 Nations. Adoption of a convention would give a strong political signal that criminal conduct by UN officials or experts on mission would not be tolerated. Other delegations considered it premature to discuss a draft convention, as further information and study were needed to understand the nature and extent of the problem—including potential jurisdictional gaps or obstacles to cooperation—and to assess whether a convention would be an appropriate response. Some felt that efforts should focus on implementing the measures adopted in Assembly resolutions 62/63 [YUN 2007, p. 102] and 63/119, in particular the improvement by individual States of their own legislation, as well as enhanced cooperation among States. Others suggested adapting the model status-of-forces agreements and status-of-mission agreements to specific situations, by focusing on the elaboration of jurisdictional clauses and provisions aimed at strengthening cooperation in the prosecution of serious crimes committed by UN officials and experts on mission. Informal consultations had also begun on the elaboration of a draft resolution that would reaffirm the need to implement the short-term measures envisaged in those resolutions. GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 16 December [meeting 64], the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee [A/64/446], adopted resolution 64/110 without vote [agenda item 78]. 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 of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations that the SecretaryGeneral 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 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 further its resolution 59/300 of 22 June 2005, in which it endorsed 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, Recognizing the valuable contribution of United Nations officials and experts on mission towards the fulfilment of the principles and purposes of the Charter,