Risk Areas
1.1 Mission Employment
Explanation of risk area
Overseas deployments can be lucrative postings, both in terms of additional remuneration and in terms of career prospects: additional training and experience gained during missions can lead to more attractive professional options afterwards. Where strong merit-based recruitment systems, coupled with independent controls, are absent, postings can be allocated on the basis of bribery or patronage.
Examples
Case Study: Corruption and UN peace operations
Bribery in mission employment: UN peacekeepers
In 2014, an internal UN investigation showed that eight police officers from Côte d’Ivoire had paid money to Ivorian counterparts at the UN to secure deployments to MINUSTAH and MONUSCO. The Deputy Permanent Representative of the Cote d’Ivoire mission, whose position allowed him to influence hiring, would charge $4,000 to arrange placements. Allegations of bribery in the selection process for UN peacekeepers have recurred in other troop contributing countries (TCCs), including the Philippines and Bangladesh.
View case studyRecruitment in troop contributing countries
Patronage and political allegiance to ruling parties appear to be important deciding factors for recruitment in some troop contributing countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, Rwanda, and South Africa. In Niger, for example, the Djema ethnic group tend to be favoured by the military, and in Togo, approximately 80% of the officers are from the Kabye ethnic group whilst they only constitute 23% of the population. Most of the top 25 troop contributing countries do not have open and public recruitment processes for UN peacekeeping operations, and the criteria for selecting those who deploy are unclear.
View external case studyIndicators & Warnings
Requests to employ particular individuals, often while circumventing official recruitment processes
Recruitment of individuals who manifestly do not meet job requirements
Prevalence of recruits from one ethnic or social group
Poor documentation for travel and other expenses (could indicate diversion of allowances)
Reports of bribery in recruitment