UN B LUEBOOK

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FOREWORD

The international standards and norms summarized in this handbook incorporate basic principles of criminal justice, human rights and humanitarian law, for the use of the civilian police components of United Nations peace-keeping operations. One of their main responsibilities is to monitor law enforcement activities of local officials, so that they carry out their tasks with full respect for universally accepted human rights and criminal justice standards. In view of these important functions, it is expected that United Nations personnel would set an example, in strictly adhering to the spirit and the letter of the principles contained therein and in overwing their application.

The handbook attempts to provide a compact overview of relevant international standards and norms, readily accessible to those with monitoring functions in the field of criminal justice. As such, it is designed to serve both as a basis for reporting on the activities of local law enforcement officials and as a reference source in working with them. It can also be utilized as a starting tool for planning and implementing training courses, or developing training curricula .

The legal status of the standards and norms outlined in the handbook varies. The provisions contained in multilateral treaties concluded under the auspices of the United Nations, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, impose specific obligations on State Parties that ratify or accede to them. Such treaties are, therefore, legally binding .

Other standards, such as the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, aim to avoid possible abuses and to ensure humane practices, having received widespread acceptance by the international community. Most of them were developed by the quinquennial congresses on the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders, convened by the United Nations, and were adopted by Governments at the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council. As such, these instruments have an undenible moral force, providing practical guidance to Sates on their conduct.

Some of the norms, such as the Geneva Conventions, have the status of customary international law. Thus, they impose binding legal obligations on all States and the humanitarian rules which they contain must be observed also in time of armed conflict.

For a precise listing of the applicable standards and norms, the "sources" at the end of the handbook should be consulted. Their full text can be found either in the Compendium of United Nations Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, United Nations sales publication, No. E.92.1V.1. (STtCSDHA/16), or in Human Rights; A Compilation of International Instruments, United Nations sales publication, No. E.93.XIV. 1 (Vol . I. Part 1 ) .

This publication has drawn on the valuable input of many colleagues in the field, in particular members of CIVPOL of the United Nations Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR) and of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). It is hoped that it will prove useful also in other United Nations peace-keeping operations, acting as a catalyst for change in law enforcement and police behaviour, as well as a guide for effective and fair criminal justice administration. If these aims are achieved, it will no doubt contribute to a more effective promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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