The Code Blue Campaign works to end impunity for sexual offenses by un personnel
THE PROBLEM
For over three decades, allegations of sexual offenses have been levelled against UN personnel around the world. The UN has a zero tolerance policy in place, so why does impunity persist?
the campaign
We launched the Code Blue Campaign in May 2015 to end impunity for sexual abuse by UN personnel. Read more about the campaign, the changes we're seeking, and how we do our advocacy.
media & news
Get the latest news, press releases, and updates from the Code Blue Campaign on sexual offenses by UN personnel.
spotlight
Code Blue shines a spotlight on cases that highlight the UN’s failed responses to sexual offenses by its personnel.
Code Blue: The latest
Must-read updates, statements and press releases from the Code Blue Campaign.
April 1, 2022: As Secretary-General António Guterres prepares to replace Jane Holl Lute, Code Blue calls for the next Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse to scrutinize the Organization’s current response and seek out new perspectives before calling for necessary reform.
March 18, 2022: In the latest Special Measures Report, the Secretary-General declares his intention to improve the UN's response to its sexual abuse crisis by appointing a dedicated, full-time Special Coordinator. The change is overdue. But it isn't enough. Our statement calls for radical reform. (UN Photo / Manuel Elías)
February 17, 2022: Code Blue is calling for the removal of Jane Holl Lute as Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Her simultaneous position as a spokesperson for Shell Oil presents an untenable conflict of interest. (Photo: C-SPAN)
October 22, 2021: Co-Director Paula Donovan reacts to the WHO’s plan to address sexual exploitation and abuse by its personnel. (UN Photo/Manuel Elías)
September 28, 2021: The World Health Organization's "Independent" Commission on sexual abuse allegations in DRC released its report today. Paula Donovan, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign, says there is nothing independent about the way WHO handled the allegations lodged against its personnel.
July 19, 2021: Member States need to enact far-reaching changes to ensure that the horrors of MINUSTAH—the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017—will never be repeated, in any mission. (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)
June 8, 2021: The Office of Internal Oversight Services issued a scathing critique of the UN’s approach to its ongoing sexual exploitation and abuse crisis. In this piece, Code Blue responds. (UN Photo/Rick Bajornas)
March 19, 2021: Today’s UN press conference announcing the release of the Secretary-General’s annual Special Measures Report steered clear of hard facts in favor of frivolous distractions.
February 12, 2021: The United Kingdom has vowed to put the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and harassment by aid sector and UN personnel "at the centre of everything we do." But a child rape case from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—involving an alleged perpetrator of British nationality—puts the lie to that claim. (UN Photo)
February 1, 2021: António Guterres has announced his availability for a second term as UN Secretary-General. In a new statement, Code Blue calls on him to step aside and ask Member States to appoint a woman in his place. (UN Photo / Manuel Elías)
October 1, 2020: The UN's dysfunctional system for handling allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against its own personnel ensures that the latest scandal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will not be the last. (UN Photo / Sylvain Liechti)
September 17, 2020: The UN inquiry on Burundi must not end until President Ndayishimiye orders the investigation and prosecution, if necessary, of Burundian soldiers serving in UN Peacekeeping who have been accused of sexual crimes.
August 11, 2020: In an opinion piece published in Devex, Code Blue legal and policy advisor Sharanya Kanikkannan highlights the failures of the UN’s internal justice system and argues for transparent and accessible accountability mechanisms. (UN Photo / Manuel Elias)
July 20, 2020: In our second Open Letter to the Secretary-General, we redouble our effort to determine the work status of Ms. Lute, the senior UN official charged with overseeing the effort to end sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel. (UN Photo / Mark Garten)
July 16, 2020: The UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi urged the international community this week to "remain vigilant" on the situation in Burundi. The Code Blue Campaign agrees, and calls on the UN to ensure that Burundian peacekeepers are no longer free to commit sexual exploitation and abuse with impunity. (Photo: presidence.gov.bi)
June 1, 2020: The UN's highest-ranking official dedicated to addressing sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UN personnel—Jane Holl Lute, who serves at the Under-Secretary-General level—appears to be no longer actively engaged in her role. (UN Photo / Loey Felipe)
May 15, 2020: It is not possible to hold a free and fair election without international monitors in the midst of rampant and worsening violence while an unchecked pandemic sickens many more Burundians than the government is willing to admit, write Paula Donovan and Stephen Lewis in a new statement. (UN Photo / Martine Perret)
March 13, 2020: The Code Blue Campaign comments on a troubling new UN report, which reveals an increase in the number of sexual exploitation and abuse allegations against UN personnel. We need the UN now more than ever. (UN Photo / Eskinder Debebe)
5 mars 2020 : Dans un nouveau rapport, la Code Blue Campaign présente un récit étayant notre point de vue selon lequel les troupes du régime de Pierre Nkurunziza au Burundi n'ont pas leur place dans les opérations de maintien de la paix de l'ONU. (Crédit photo / Adrienne Surprenant)
March 5, 2020: In a new report, the Code Blue Campaign lays out a narrative substantiating our view that troops from the Pierre Nkurunziza regime in Burundi do not belong in UN Peacekeeping. (Photo credit / Adrienne Surprenant)
January 20, 2020: Izzy Tod looks back on the UN’s internal gender politics on the 100th anniversary of the League of Nations' founding, in a guest post that first appeared in Cherwell, Oxford’s independent student newspaper. (UN Photo / Mark Garten)
December 20, 2019: Unresolved paternity claims stemming from sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UN peacekeepers are an endemic problem. (UN Photo / Marie Frechon)
December 19, 2019: Code Blue Legal and Policy Advisor Sharanya Kanikkannan calls out UNAIDS’ retaliatory behavior against Martina Brostrom—behavior aimed at silencing victims of sexual assault. (Photo: CNN)
December 13, 2019: Martina Brostrom was fired today from UNAIDS in what she described as a blatant act of retaliation. (Photo credit: Mark Henley)
December 2, 2019: The Code Blue Campaign's Emma Schwartz writes a blog post on the implications of a new academic piece published in International Studies Quarterly. The study’s findings underscore Code Blue’s stance that Burundi has no place in peacekeeping. (UN Photo / Marco Dormino)
October 9, 2019: Yet another United Nations entity—this time the World Food Programme (WFP)—is engulfed in a sexual abuse scandal. An independent survey found WFP to be a cesspool of harassment, discrimination against women and minorities, abuse of authority, and retaliation. The Code Blue Campaign issues a call—once again—for independent oversight. (UN Photo / Logan Abassi)
September 9, 2019: The newly released UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi report shows that Burundi government forces continue to commit sexual violence against women and girls with a shocking degree of impunity. The UN should end it complicity with an odious regime and cease deploying Burundian soldiers as UN peacekeepers. (UN Photo / Stuart Price)
August 14, 2019: AIDS-Free World extends congratulations to Winnie Byanyima on her appointment as Executive Director of UNAIDS, and wishes her luck as she tackles considerable internal and external challenges at the UN entity. (UN Photo / Amanda Voisard)
August 1, 2019: In a new statement, the Code Blue Campaign criticizes the UN for its failure to address the crisis at UNRWA and calls on Member States to intervene by creating an independent oversight panel. (UN Photo / Shareef Sarhan)
July 16, 2019: In a new letter to the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, the Code Blue Campaign calls on the UN to repatriate Burundian peacekeepers serving in the Central African Republic, ending a deployment that earns the brutal and autocratic regime millions of dollars and puts innocent civilians at risk. (UN Photo / Marco Dormino)