Jean-Marie Guehenno, Undersecretary-General and head of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, held a briefing last week to address troop discipline in response to recent peacekeeping scandals including gold-for-guns and sex-for-food accusations.The U.N. has expressed zero-tolerance for peacekeeping crimes, and has proposed a memorandum to set out standards to prevent future misconduct. However, the standards are only binding if the countries agree to them, and some have expressed opposition to the standards. Guehenno called on the countries resisting the standards to reconsider their positions.
Compiled from: “U.N.: Peacekeepers Need Formal Discipline,” United Press International, 30 May 2007.