ABSTRACT
In order to establish sustainable peace in societies suffering the consequences of violent conflict, it is not enough to ensure accountability for crimes committed in the post-conflict phase. If reconciliation and the rule of law are to be obtained, atrocities committed during the conflict also have to be addressed. Hence, if UN peace missions are to succeed in helping recovering societies establish the rule of law, then it is not enough that they rebuild and reform the national police force, the justice system and correctional systems to secure accountability for post-conflict crimes. They also need to assist these societies to implement transitional justice processes to secure accountability for atrocities committed during the conflict. This chapter focuses on the inclusion of these processes in the UN’s post-conflict peace-building approach. It examines activities that peace missions have been involved in and assesses the results of these efforts. The chapter also examines why the missions have failed or succeeded in carrying out transitional justice-related activities. Finally, it also looks at recent UN reports and debates in order to establish their views of the role of peace missions in securing accountability for serious crimes committed during the violent conflict in the areas where they are deployed.
