Republic of Chad
Representation of the Republic of Chad before the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly on Legal Affairs
School: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México
Committee: General Assembly Sixth Committe - Legal
Topic: Criminal Accountability of UN Officials and Experts on Mission
Country: Republic of Chad
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Type of Government: Republic
Capital: N'Djamena
Chief of State: President Lt. Gen. Idriss Deby Itno
Head of Government: Prime Minister Emmanuel Nadingar
International Affiliations: ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Currency: Communauté Financière Africaine Franc (XAF)
GDP: $19.69 billion USD
GDP Per capita: $1900 USD
Area: 1.284 million sq Km.
Population: 10,975,648 inhabitants
Official Language: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south); more than 120 different languages and dialects.
Religion: Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1%.
School: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México
Committee: General Assembly Sixth Committee - Legal
Topic: Criminal Accountability of UN Officials and Experts on Mission
Country: Republic of Chad
During the last decades, the international community has witnessed a number of armed conflicts that threaten the development and stability of countries and even of entire regions. However, the United Nations has been working hard towards the settlement of such disputes and the restoration of peace in post-conflict zones. Ground labor of multinational and multitask UN contingents is key in achieving this task. In the same way, the Organization contributes greatly to the alleviation of other issues, such as famine and the undesired consequences of natural disasters, as well as in the promotion of development strategies. That is why the misconduct shown by some officials and experts on mission does not only obstruct the fulfillment of their duties, but also undermines the credibility and integrity of the whole Organization.
As a member of the African Union, which hosts the largest peacekeeping deployment in the world, the Republic of Chad considers that the criminal accountability of the officials and experts on mission who commit crimes during peacekeeping operations is an issue of the utmost importance. Immunity enjoyed by United Nations personnel is provided to ensure the independent and thorough exercise of their duties, but such privileged space for action should not be abused at any time. It is therefore our duty as Member States, both troop-contributing countries, and host countries of peacekeeping operations, to enforce all measures within our scope to prevent, identify, and sanction such offenses.
The Republic of Chad was host of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), established in 2007 under Security Council Resolution 1778. The Mission held the primary objective of protecting the civilian population and refugee camps from the violence occurring in Eastern Chad as a result of the Darfur conflict in neighboring Sudan. It also helped protect human rights and the rule of law, while promoting the improvement of security conditions so internally displaced persons could return to their places of origin. MINURCAT completed its mandate on December 31, 2010 at the request of our government. During the exercise of its mandate, five allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were presented: three involving international civilian personnel, one involving an international police element, and another concerning a non-UN employee (probably hired by a subcontractor).
Despite its limited resources, Chad is also a troop-contributing country, having deployed sixty-three elements, the majority of which perform police functions. The Chadian personnel is currently collaborating in MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, and UNOCI. As both a troop-contributing country and a former host of a peacekeeping operation, Chad considers that the jurisdictional gaps concerning this issue must be addressed without delay.
With the purpose of ensuring the aforementioned accountability, Chad supports the creation of an international legal instrument that, respecting sovereignty at all times, establishes a standard procedure to be followed in those cases in which allegations of misconduct prove to be substantiated. We believe that a legal frame of this nature would regulate the criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission, thus providing legal certainty to the victims, the prosecuted, and even the prosecutors. Nevertheless, while such instrument is agreed, more practical and immediate measures to prevent and punish misconduct must be established and enforced.
When necessary, troop-contributing countries should amend their legislation in order to extend their jurisdiction, so that crimes committed abroad by their nationals can be prosecuted, at least in the cases where the perpetrated acts represent a crime in the State where the offence was committed. Moreover, such jurisdiction should include crimes committed by citizens while serving within the United Nations system. The Republic of Chad would consider convenient the provision of UN mentoring, technical and legal assistance in this regard, when countries deem it necessary. We also stand for further awareness-raising in communities of countries hosting peacekeeping operations, and the enhancement of widely diffused mechanisms that allow victims to present their complaints, while welcoming the overall labor done by the Conduct and Discipline Teams.
The Republic of Chad subscribes to the zero-tolerance policy of sexual exploitation and abuse outlined by the Secretary-General, and supports the three-pronged strategy set out to eliminate these unfortunate incidents, while stressing the importance of prevention. In this context, Chad calls for fellow troop-contributing countries to set the highest standards in the selection of personnel who will serve the United Nations through its various agencies. Furthermore, the Group of African States encourages troop-contributing countries to highlight the issues of sexual abuse and other criminal acts during the mandatory pre-deployment training and to fully implement the policy and remedial measures contained in General Assembly resolutions 62/63 and 63/119, as stated by Mr. Kamau from Kenya who spoke on behalf of the Group of African States during the Sixth Committee 9th Meeting at the 66th Session of the General Assembly.
Finally, our country is committed to correct any procedural or jurisdictional gaps that remain in its legislation or that may be recommended by this committee, while reaffirming its commitment to work closely with the United Nations and its Members States towards the enforcement of justice.
International Disputes and Conflicts: Since 2003, armed militia groups and the Sudanese military have driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into neighboring Chad, while provoking internal displacement in Chad. The Sudanese militias also intrude in the country, having carried out several attacks. There are border delimitation issues in several points. Only Nigeria and Cameroon heeded the Lake Chad Comission’s admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries.
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School: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México
Committee: General Assembly Sixth Committee - Legal
Topic: Criminal Accountability of UN Officials and Experts on Mission
Country: Republic of Chad
Document issued by the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
During the last decades, the international community has witnessed a number of armed conflicts that threaten the development and stability of countries and even of entire regions. However, the United Nations has been working hard towards the settlement of such disputes and the restoration of peace in post-conflict zones. Ground labor of multinational and multitask UN contingents is key in achieving this task. In the same way, the Organization contributes greatly to the alleviation of other issues, such as famine and the undesired consequences of natural disasters, as well as in the promotion of development strategies. That is why the misconduct shown by some officials and experts on mission does not only obstruct the fulfillment of their duties, but also undermines the credibility and integrity of the whole Organization.
As a member of the African Union, which hosts the largest peacekeeping deployment in the world, the Republic of Chad considers that the criminal accountability of the officials and experts on mission who commit crimes during peacekeeping operations is an issue of the utmost importance. Immunity enjoyed by United Nations personnel is provided to ensure the independent and thorough exercise of their duties, but such privileged space for action should not be abused at any time. It is therefore our duty as Member States, both troop-contributing countries, and host countries of peacekeeping operations, to enforce all measures within our scope to prevent, identify, and sanction such offenses.
The Republic of Chad was host of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), established in 2007 under Security Council Resolution 1778. The Mission held the primary objective of protecting the civilian population and refugee camps from the violence occurring in Eastern Chad as a result of the Darfur conflict in neighboring Sudan. It also helped protect human rights and the rule of law, while promoting the improvement of security conditions so internally displaced persons could return to their places of origin. MINURCAT completed its mandate on December 31, 2010 at the request of our government. During the exercise of its mandate, five allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were presented: three involving international civilian personnel, one involving an international police element, and another concerning a non-UN employee (probably hired by a subcontractor).
Despite its limited resources, Chad is also a troop-contributing country, having deployed sixty-three elements, the majority of which perform police functions. The Chadian personnel is currently collaborating in MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, and UNOCI. As both a troop-contributing country and a former host of a peacekeeping operation, Chad considers that the jurisdictional gaps concerning this issue must be addressed without delay.
With the purpose of ensuring the aforementioned accountability, Chad supports the creation of an international legal instrument that, respecting sovereignty at all times, establishes a standard procedure to be followed in those cases in which allegations of misconduct prove to be substantiated. We believe that a legal frame of this nature would regulate the criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission, thus providing legal certainty to the victims, the prosecuted, and even the prosecutors. Nevertheless, while such instrument is agreed, more practical and immediate measures to prevent and punish misconduct must be established and enforced.
When necessary, troop-contributing countries should amend their legislation in order to extend their jurisdiction, so that crimes committed abroad by their nationals can be prosecuted, at least in the cases where the perpetrated acts represent a crime in the State where the offence was committed. Moreover, such jurisdiction should include crimes committed by citizens while serving within the United Nations system. The Republic of Chad would consider convenient the provision of UN mentoring, technical and legal assistance in this regard, when countries deem it necessary. We also stand for further awareness-raising in communities of countries hosting peacekeeping operations, and the enhancement of widely diffused mechanisms that allow victims to present their complaints, while welcoming the overall labor done by the Conduct and Discipline Teams.
The Republic of Chad subscribes to the zero-tolerance policy of sexual exploitation and abuse outlined by the Secretary-General, and supports the three-pronged strategy set out to eliminate these unfortunate incidents, while stressing the importance of prevention. In this context, Chad calls for fellow troop-contributing countries to set the highest standards in the selection of personnel who will serve the United Nations through its various agencies. Furthermore, the Group of African States encourages troop-contributing countries to highlight the issues of sexual abuse and other criminal acts during the mandatory pre-deployment training and to fully implement the policy and remedial measures contained in General Assembly resolutions 62/63 and 63/119, as stated by Mr. Kamau from Kenya who spoke on behalf of the Group of African States during the Sixth Committee 9th Meeting at the 66th Session of the General Assembly.
Finally, our country is committed to correct any procedural or jurisdictional gaps that remain in its legislation or that may be recommended by this committee, while reaffirming its commitment to work closely with the United Nations and its Members States towards the enforcement of justice.
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Permanent Representatives of the Republic of Chad
Global Classrooms International Model United Nations
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