“This monograph addresses whether or not international criminal law and the newly
established International Criminal Court (ICC)may have a role to play in the effective
prosecution of peacekeepers who have committed serious crimes. At a meeting of
African leaders in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 January 2005, Secretary-General of the United
Nations, Kofi Annan, expressed concern about the abuse of civilians at the hands of
peacekeepers and called for ‘the very highest standards of professionalism and conduct from the tens of thousands of United Nations(UN) peacekeepers deployed in different parts of the continent’. Whilst paying tribute to those blue helmets who had lost their lives in the service of peace, and stating that he was proud of the contributions made by the peacekeepers to the promotion of stability in several countries in Africa, the Secretary-General expressed his outrage at revelations that Congolese children had been sexually exploited by UN personnel in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).”
