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Primer for Justice Components in Multidimensional Peace Operations: Strengthening the Rule of Law
Author: United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Date: 2006
Size:
15 pages
(300 KB)
Access full text: available online
Summary
How can technical assistance be targeted most effectively to help re-establish a judicial system following conflict? This chapter on focal areas and activities for technical assistance from a manual by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations identifies ten areas for consideration. Technical assistance in strengthening the court system should emphasise criminal justice. Key civil law areas — such as land and property rights, or citizenship and national identification — will also need to be addressed where they are closely linked to implementation of a peace agreement, to causes of insecurity, or to the underlying conflict.
Justice sections of peacekeeping operations will help provide training, specialised advisory services, or will systematically monitor the legal system in order to provide national and international counterparts with practical recommendations as to improvements needed. Justice sections will also play a central role in constitutional and legislative reform, including through approaches that stress citizen participation.
Within the ten focal areas a number of challenges are identified. Findings include that:
- The prevalence of crime in a post-conflict setting can jeopardise security and undermine reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts
- The rapid implementation of international technical support can lead to overlap and conflict with present statutes, policies and procedures
- There is usually a need for basic and in-service training programs for judges, lawyers, investigators and other legal support staff
- Transparency and accountability are needed within the judiciary to improve public perception and limit the potential for corruption and improper external influence
- Access to justice means that the justice system must be available, affordable and culturally appropriate for all parts of the population
- Women’s access to justice is often severely limited by discrimination and inequality in law and justice practices.
- Immediate emergency measures should be developed in a way that lays the foundations for longer-term reform
- Donors need to improve planning and coordination and to harmonise policies and procedures among justice sector institutions
- Strengthening legal capacity needs to include a broad spectrum of training-related issues including establishing requirements, drafting curricula and providing training programs
- Transparent procedures to remove those involved in human rights violations should be established in order to ensure a system of accountability
- In the short-term, the goal of access to justice should be to establish a framework for citizens to have a voice in the absence of violence and in the long-term these activities should promote a culture of accountability
- It is the obligation of peace operations to take measures to ensure the protection of women and a gender perspective should be incorporated into all areas of programming, including gender justice programmes.
Access full text: available online
Source:
United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, 2006, 'Focal Areas and Activities for Technical Assistance', Primer for Justice Components in Multidimensional Peace Operations: Strengthening the Rule of Law, United Nations, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, ch. 4.
Author:
United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations , http://www.peacekeepingbestpractices.unlb.org/
