In November of 2007, 108 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were removed from duty in Haiti and repatriated. Internal United Nations investigations had discovered extensive sexual exploitation had occurred between the peacekeepers and the local community, including the patronage of underage prostitutes. While many would like to write this event off as an isolated incident, the reality is that the events in Haiti were far from exceptional. Sexual misconduct is a serious problem at many UN peacekeeping missions, and UN efforts to curb these abuses have proven to be ineffective.
Brown University Professors Catherine Lutz and Matthew Guttman first became involved in the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse at UN peacekeeping missions following the well-publicized discovery of grave abuses at the United Mission in the Congo in 2004. The United Nations had made efforts to address the abuse through a number of measures ranging from the introduction of stricter codes of conduct to the improvement of recreational facilities for peacekeepers. The United Nations approach has largely been to improve oversight and limit peacekeepers from socially interacting with the local population. Lutz and Guttman see these solutions as skirting some of the major causes of abuse. Where UN assessments saw problems stemming from a lack of regulation and the specific environment of peacekeeping missions, Lutz and Guttman see larger problems of race and gender playing out within the culture of UN peacekeeping missions.
Recently, at a talk at The Fletcher School, Lutz and Guttman presented their field research and conclusions on the subject. Using an anthropological approach, the researchers visited three separate United Nations peacekeeping missions, each with a different history of abuse. At each mission, research was conducted largely through interviews with the peacekeepers directly. While the professors do note variance in conduct due to the environment in which the missions are located, their findings suggest deeper problems starting with significant variance in definitions of what conduct actually constitutes abuse.
Guttman and Lutz’s findings suggest an array of variables that effect sexual misconduct within a mission. There are the issues within the local community and mission context, including economic deprivation and command style. Perhaps more troubling, however, are the problems of the peacekeepers own perceptions of gender and race. Prejudices held against the local communities and militarized masculinity can create abusive environments.
Discovering these abuse-facilitating cultures is a significant step toward redirecting UN policy, but solutions are not easily found. While training programs and command climates offer some opportunities to reform the culture at peacekeeping missions, these programs are not easily implemented and measured for effect. Lutz and Guttman, while offering some suggestions of their own, benefited from a well-informed audience at their lecture. Several former peacekeepers and gender experts initiated provocative discussions. Students in attendance left the lecture with both an increased understanding of challenges to peacekeeping missions, as well as the knowledge that their information might be a step toward ending sexual abuse in the UN system. Professors Lutz and Guttman will present their findings and recommendations to the United Nations in the coming months.
Mark Koenig MALD ‘08
