UN aware of docu on BD peacekeepers

Staff Reporter :
During a press briefing at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Wednesday, questions arose regarding the deployment of Bangladeshi peacekeepers to UN missions, following revelations made in a DW investigative documentary.

The documentary highlighted allegations that officers from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, implicated in severe human rights violations such as torture and extrajudicial killings, have been assigned to peacekeeping missions.

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, acknowledged the documentary and reiterated the Secretariat’s commitment to deploying personnel who meet high standards of integrity and respect for human rights.

“We’ve seen the documentary, and as you know, our colleagues in the peacekeeping department have been interacting and gave a statement to the producers,” Dujarric informed journalists in response to a question.

About the procedure for deployment in UN Missions, he said, “We want to restate very clearly that the Secretariat is committed to deploying personnel that meet the highest standards of efficiency and integrity, including respect for and commitment to human rights, and has established the relevant procedures and mechanisms under the policy on human rights screening of UN personnel.”

In reply to another question of the screening process, the spokesman outlined the screening process involving self-certification, certification by the sending country, and scrutiny by the Office for Human Rights. “There are three parts to the screening.

One thing involves self-certification; the other one involves the certification by the sending country, and obviously, there’s a procedure also by the office for human rights, the High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights,” he explained.

The questioning continued, focusing on the challenges posed by sending countries with records of human rights abuses themselves.