Reporting Possible Misconduct and Receiving Complaints
All United Nations personnel, whether civilian, military, or police, learn how to report possible misconduct as part of their core training. United Nations personnel are obliged to report misconduct to the appropriate officials. Failing to do so may itself be misconduct.
Misconduct can be reported confidentially via secure email, telephone hotline, locked complaint boxes, or in person to the Conduct and Discipline Team. Misconduct can also be reported directly to the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
When an allegation of possible misconduct is received, the information is assessed to determine if the alleged acts, if true, would breach United Nations Standards of Conduct. If so, the matter is referred for investigation.
Allegations of misconduct are recorded in the Case Management Tracking System (CMTS), a confidential database used by field missions and overseen by the Conduct and Discipline Service in United Nations Headquarters.
Peacekeeping and special political missions also known as field missions and other United Nations Secretariat entities have complaint reception systems which allow members of the local population and United Nations personnel to report possible misconduct confidentially and safely.
Field missions inform members of local communities about acceptable behavior and how to report misconduct. This is done through poster campaigns, brochures, seminars and trainings, websites, theater performances, and radio broadcasts, often in local languages. Prevention and reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse are given particular focus for raising awareness among local communities.
Field missions also set up and support community-based complaint reception mechanisms, working with civil society organizations, community groups, local government, and others.
Investigations: Ensuring Accountability
Investigations are a key part of the accountability for violations of United Nations’ standards of conduct and critical to ensuring there is no impunity. Investigations into allegations of misconduct must be thorough, timely, and sensitive to victims.
The authority for investigating depends on the category of personnel. The United Nations conducts investigations of allegations against Secretariat staff and individually deployed uniformed personnel.
The troop-contributing countries have the primary responsibility to investigate alleged misconduct involving their military contingent personnel. Troop-contributing countries must inform the United Nations of the findings and conclusions of a national investigation. In cases of sexual exploitation and abuse against military contingent personnel, the United Nations strongly encourages Member States to investigate jointly with the United Nations. If a troop-contributing country does not conduct a national investigation, the United Nations will step in to investigate and will inform the Member State of its findings.
The timeline for investigations into misconduct will vary given the complexities involved. The goal for investigations of sexual exploitation and abuse is that they should be completed within six months, barring extenuating circumstances. The United Nations and the troop-contributing countries are also asked to adhere to this timeline.
Accountability for Misconduct
Where an allegation of misconduct is substantiated by an investigation, the perpetrator will face an accountability process. The process will depend on the category of the perpetrator.
For United Nations Secretariat staff, depending on the severity of the misconduct, disciplinary action can range from a reprimand to dismissal. That process is managed by the Office of Human Resources based on United Nations human resources policies. There are processes in place to prevent staff who have been found to have committed misconduct from being considered to be rehired in the United Nations, including United Nations agencies, funds, and programs. Additionally, where misconduct may also amount to a criminal, the matter is referred to the appropriate Member State for possible criminal prosecution. For more information on criminal accountability, please visit https://www.un.org/ola/en.
Uniformed personnel found to have committed misconduct will be deemed to have been repatriated on disciplinary grounds and banned from serving in the United Nations.
Member States take action, in line with national laws, against police and military personnel found to have committed misconduct while serving the United Nations. Member States must inform the Secretariat about the progress and outcome of an investigation and disciplinary or criminal action taken for each case.
United Nations payments to Member States deploying personnel are recovered, for substantiated allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. Relevant payments to United Nations civilian staff are also recovered upon their separation for SEA. Such payments are transferred to the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of SEA. If unsubstantiated, the payments are released in full.
