The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel is a United Nations

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...

that has the goal of protecting United Nations peacekeepers and other UN personnel.

Adoption

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and

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proposed such a convention in 1993, and the

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

drafted the convention in 1994. The

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

passed a resolution adopting the convention on 9 December 1994.

Content

Parties to the convention agree to criminalise the commission of murders or kidnappings of UN or association personnel as well as violent attacks against the equipment, official premises, private accommodation, or means of transport of such persons. Parties to the convention also agree to criminalise the attempted commission or threatened commission of such acts. "UN personnel" refers to individuals engaged or deployed by the

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as members of the military, police, or civilian components of a UN operation; it also includes officials of the UN specialized agencies and the

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. "Associated personnel" includes other personnel—such as members of

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

—assigned to act in an official capacity by UN personnel. A central provision of the convention is the principle of '' aut dedere aut judicare''—that a party to the treaty must either (1) prosecute a person who commits an offence against UN or associated personnel or (2) send the person to another state that requests his or her

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

for prosecution of the same crime. The convention states that the military and police components of a UN operation—including vehicles, aircraft, and vessels—shall bear distinctive UN identification and that all UN and associated personnel shall carry appropriate identification. The treaty also states that the UN and associated personnel shall respect and abide by the domestic laws of the host state.

Ratifications and parties

By the end of 1995, the convention had been signed by 43 states and it came into force on 15 January 1999 after it had been ratified by 22 states. As of June 2016, the treaty has been ratified by 93 states, which includes 92 UN member states plus the

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. The states that signed the convention but have not yet ratified it are

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, and the

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Optional Protocol

On 8 December 2005, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The Optional Protocol simply expands the scope of what constitutes a "UN operation" to include "delivering humanitarian, political or development assistance in peacebuilding" and "delivering emergency humanitarian assistance". The Optional Protocol was signed by 34 states, came into force on 19 August 2010, and as of June 2016 has been ratified by 30 states.

Notes

References

*Ch. Bourloyannis-Vrailas, "The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel", '' International and Comparative Law Quarterly'', vol. 44 (1995) pp. 560–590. *E. T. Bloom, "Protecting Peacekeepers: The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel", ''

American Journal of International Law ''The American Journal of International Law'' is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations. It is published quarterly since 1907 by the American Society of International Law (ASIL). The ''Jo ...

'', vol. 89 (1995) pp. 621–631. *S. J. Lepper, "The Legal Status of Military Personnel in United Nations Peace Operations: One Delegate's Analysis", ''

Houston Journal of International Law The ''Houston Journal of International Law'' is a triannual student-edited law journal published by the University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Foun ...

'', vol. 18 (1995–1996) pp. 359–464. *H. Llewellyn, "The Optional Protocol to the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel", '' International and Comparative Law Quarterly'', vol. 55 (2006) pp. 718–728.

External links

*Mahnoush H. Arsanjani
"Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel"
un.org

Ratifications of Convention

Text of Optional Protocol

Ratifications of Optional Protocol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safety of United Nations and Association Personnel Convention Treaties concluded in 1994 Treaties entered into force in 1999 United Nations treaties International criminal law treaties United Nations peacekeeping *Convention Treaties adopted by United Nations General Assembly resolutions Treaties drafted by the International Law Commission Treaties of Albania Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Australia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of Bangladesh Treaties of Belarus Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bolivia Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Botswana Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Brunei Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Burkina Faso Treaties of Canada Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Colombia Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of North Korea Treaties of Denmark Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Germany Treaties of Greece Treaties of Guatemala Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Iceland Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Italy Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of Laos Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Lesotho Treaties of Liberia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Liechtenstein Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Malawi Treaties of Mali Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Mongolia Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Nauru Treaties of Nepal Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Norway Treaties of the State of Palestine Treaties of Panama Treaties of Paraguay Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of Poland Treaties of Portugal Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Romania Treaties of Russia Treaties of Samoa Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sri Lanka Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Uzbekistan International humanitarian law treaties Diplomatic immunity and protection treaties Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles Treaties extended to the Isle of Man Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to Hong Kong Treaties extended to Macau