H.R. 1414 - The International Rule of Law and Antiterrorism Act
Questions and Answers

I Thought Peacekeeping Just Involved Soldiers. Why Are You Talking About Police?

The first thing you do in a peace operation is stop the fighting, and that takes soldiers. But to finish the job, to make sure the peace operation is a success, you have to make things safe for ordinary people in their daily lives. You need police for that.


Why Can't the Soldiers Finish the Job?

Soldiers don't make good cops. Police have very different training and procedures than soldiers. Police are the institution for public safety, not the military.


What do You Mean by Restoring the Rule of Law?

It takes competent police to investigate crimes and uphold the law, fair and impartial courts and judges to try offenders, and jails where human rights are respected to hold the guilty. These are the necessary ingredients for a fair society where democracy and freedom can flourish.

Why Should This Concern the United States?

Making sure a peace operation is successful can help U.S. national security interests by keeping failed states from becoming safe havens of operation for organized criminal networks and international terrorist organizations.


So Restoring the Rule of Law is Important? 

The U.S. military thinks so. Former Supreme Allied Commander for Europe General Joseph Ralston underlined the importance of the restoration of the rule of law, stating, "The thing the overall system ought to be looking at is this rule of law issue - police, judges, courts. It is not a military function…but somebody, somewhere in the overall system needs to do that." - from A Force for Peace and Security


Where do CIVPOL Come From?

CIVPOL (civilian police) come from national police departments from around the globe (or local police departments in the case of the U.S., the largest contributor of CIVPOL).


What are Some Things CIVPOL Do?

They monitor and report the behavior of the local police; oversee the security and human rights of returned refugees and displaced persons; help establish and maintain a neutral political environment free from intimidation during the electoral process; monitor the demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of former armed combatants; investigate human rights abuses and alleged war crimes; assist humanitarian activities; and finally, act as a liaison between factions, NGOs, and UN agencies.


YOU SAID BEFORE SOLDIERS MAKE BAD COPS. BUT HAVEN'T SOLDIERS HAD TO DO THE THINGS YOU TALK ABOUT HERE?

Yes. In fact, although military commanders are overwhelmingly supportive of the need for peace operations in general, one common complaint they have is how often soldiers end up doing jobs they were not trained for and should not be doing. And Members of Congress have often complained about the military getting bogged down in non-war tasks.


HOW DO WE FIX THIS?

The most common non-war task soldiers are assigned is basic policing. So, to take the burden off the military, we must enhance the UN's capacity to deploy CIVPOL.


What, Are there Problems with the Current UN CIVPOL System?

Yes. There are many problems with the UN CIVPOL system-several of the most serious are listed below.

Time Gap: The UN faces serious difficulties deploying civilian police to peace operations. Full deployment can take months or years to accomplish, if ever. In 1999, the Security Council requested 6000 civilian police for Kosovo. Six months later they had fewer than 1000. Nearly four years later, they still have only 4700.

Accountability Gap: The UN has had problems with the behavior of the police sent by member states to serve in UN peace operations. There have been cases of illegal behavior, such as arms and drug smuggling, and sexual trafficking. In 2002, several CIVPOL officers were found to be running a sex slave ring in the Balkans, involving women and underage girls. News stories allege these problems are found in other peace operations.

Training Gap: CIVPOL recruits often do not meet even very basic standards for the mission, such as being able to drive a four-wheel drive vehicle and speak English or French. The failure rate for CIVPOL recruited for Bosnia at one point was 60%.

Recruitment Gap: The current system in place at the UN to recruit and deploy civilian police is largely ad-hoc. Police are recruited individually for each mission. More importantly in terms of impact on recruitment, police officers are on duty on the streets of their hometowns, not waiting in barracks for the call to arms. It is difficult to recruit civilian police for peace operations because national governments understandably need their police where they are-at home protecting their citizens.

Management Gap: Another problem is with the management system for civilian police at UN headquarters: currently seven people are responsible for overseeing in excess of 8000 UN civilian police deployed around the globe. This is the case even though the UN Civilian Police Division is authorized to have 24 personnel-funding and other issues are hampering expansion.

OK. So What is your Solution?

Citizens for Global Solutions supports legislation aimed at improving the UN Civilian Police system. The bill to create a UN Civilian Police Corps would:

• Call on the President to support negotiations at the UN aimed at creating a UN Civilian Police Corps (UNCPC) and request the UN Secretariat to produce a report outlining how a UNCPC might look.

• Work to establish appropriate standards of behavior and procedure for CIVPOL operating in peace operations.

• Express the Sense of Congress that the UNCPC be composed of an appropriate number of professional, trained police officers, be rapidly deployable, and be managed by the UN Civilian Police Division at UN headquarters in New York.

In a Nutshell, How Does your Bill Help the Problem?

By creating a professional, trained, and certified police corps at the UN, steps can be taken to alleviate the problems listed above. The UN would no longer have to accept sub-standard police for peace operations, and instead would have a core force of competent and professional police officers available for quick deployment.


What do Americans Think of all This? 

In the Worldviews 2002 poll conducted jointly by the German Marshall Fund and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, 57% of Americans rated strengthening the UN Very Important, and another 28% rated it Somewhat Important. 85% of Americans support a better UN!