JCSC APRIL 2013 Cover: UNOCI, Côte d’Ivoire UN Photo/Patricia Esteve

Justice and Corrections Standing Capacity Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Service Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions JCSC Judicial Affairs and Corrections Officers in Homs, Syria (June 2011)

Justice and Corrections Standing Capacity

Background Added Value

In his 2009 report on Peacebuilding in the Rapid Deployment: The JCSC can deploy judicial Immediate Aftermath of Conflict, the affairs and corrections officers on short notice. Secretary- General recommended to the General It has the capacity to deploy its members within Assembly to “build on the successful three days of a request. experience with the Standing Police Capacity (SPC) to ensure, from the outset, a holistic and Rule of Law Expertise and Additional Skills: The coordinated approach to strengthening rule of law JCSC offers to peace operations, the GFP, and that results in the equally rapid deployment of jus- all other United Nations entities of the United tice and corrections capacities”. Nations Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group a broad range of rule of law expertise. This Consequently, in June 2010, the United includes mapping and assessing justice and Nations Department of Peacekeeping corrections sectors; international, criminal, civil, Operations (DPKO) established the Justice and and administrative law; customary justice; rule of law Corrections Standing Capacity (JCSC) within institution development and support; prison the Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Service management, legal mechanisms to combating (CLJAS)of the Office of Rule of Law and Secu- sexual and gender-based violence; and related rity Institutions (OROLSI). The Capacity, which areas aiming at promoting accountability and the is multi-lingual and geographically diverse, has a fight against impunity. composition of five professional posts (the Team Leader, two Corrections Officers and two Judicial Furthermore, the JCSC possesses the technical Affairs Officers) and one administrative support know-how to translate its substantive expertise staff. The JCSC became fully staffed and opera- into the appropriate and required support activity. tional in June 2011, and is based at the United This encompasses skills in strategic planning; the Nations Global Service Centre in Brindisi, Italy. conduct of needs assessments; project develop- ment and implementation; training and other forms In addition to its core functions within DPKO, of capacity building; coordination and building up of the JCSC may be requested to provide partnerships with international and national expertise to other United Nations partners, counterparts; and recruitment of personnel. such as the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and United Nations agencies, funds and Holistic Approach to Rule of Law programmes.It can also be activated as part of Assistance: The JCSC complements and the Global Focal Point for the Police, Justice and operates alongside the SPC, which was Corrections areas in the rule of law in established in 2007 and transferred from United post-conflict and other crisis situations (GFP). Nations Headquarters to Brindisi in 2009. It takes a strategic, coherent and well-coordinated March 2012 and in February 2013), and the approach to rule of law assistance, ensures a United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria holistic delivery throughout the criminal (UNSMIS), from May to August 2012. justice chain, and provides a rapid response to the critical need of strengthening the rule of law in In South Sudan, JCSC team members deployed conflict and post-conflict settings from the outset along with the SRSG, as part of the first phase of a peace operation. of the new Mission. The JCSC, together with UNMISS, undertook a pilot mapping exercise and Core functions and other activities drafted an analysis of arbitrary and prolonged detention in two States, confirming the urgent Within the broader objective of assisting national need for the deployment of mobile teams of actors to strengthen the rule of law in a holistic and judges and prosecutors. The JCSC also coordinated manner, the JCSC was established to: supported the development of planning tools and assisted in the implementation of the United 1) Facilitate the start-up of justice and/or correc- Nations Rule of Law Indicators. A JCSC officer tions components in new United Nations field served for several months as Acting Director of operations (including participating in pre-mission the UNMISS Office for Rule of Law and Secu- planning); rity Institutions, helping to start-up, manage and ope-rate the pillar, including working to rapidly 2) Reinforce existing United Nations field recruit long-term personnel for the Mission. operations in providing technical assistance and support in the area of justice and corrections In Syria, the JCSC officers contributed to the whereand when critical and urgent gaps arise; analysis of the legal framework applicable to arbitrary detention, amnesties and official 3) Conduct operational reviews of justice and correc- immunities, and anti-terrorism. JCSC officers also tions components, as appropriate. participated in documenting, monitoring and following up on the release of arbitrarily While JCSC members are at their duty station detained persons. JCSC members participated in in Brindisi, they undertake a range of activities the training of all 272 UNSMIS military observers including, but not limited to: participating in on detention issues, established a database of mission pre-planning processes; preparing for detention facilities and detained persons, and upcoming deployments; reporting and de-briefing developed operational tools – including a on recent deployments; contributing to lessons guidance note on the role of UNSMIS military learned and best practices studies; providing observers in the implementation of the detention remote assistance to rule of law components aspects of the mandate and a standard operating in peace missions; presenting on rule of law procedure for gathering information on detention. assistance in peace operations in the civilian pre-deployment training courses in Brindisi; attending training; and participating in recruitment processes in support of peace operations.

Overview of deployments to-date

Almost immediately upon its formation, the JCSC showed its value in helping to establish and oper- ationalize new peace operations. It ensured that justice and corrections related mandates were sufficiently tackled already at the start-up phase of the operation.

Since its establishment, the JCSC has assisted the start-up of the rule of law compo- nents of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), from July to December 2011 JCSC and SPC officers at Mansoa Tribunal in Guinea Bissau (March 2013) (with follow-on deployments from January to The JCSC has also provided critical assistance Funding to the corrections component of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) from In times of decreasing budgets in an environ- July to August 2011 and again from October to ment where crisis situations are on the rise, it is November 2011. particularly important to make the most efficient use of available financial resources. While The JCSC supported UNOCI in assisting JCSC engagements in the start-up phase of new national authorities to review the legal framework missions are covered by assessed budgets or governing corrections, assisted in reviewing donor contributions, support to existing field and revising 18 prison registries following mass missions is generally to be financed by the escapes and provided a training course on requesting mission. A temporary deployment records keeping and effective prison management of a JCSC member to a requesting mission is for 33 prison directors and 44 prison registry officers. significantly cheaper – generally almost four times - compared to a temporary assignment of a staff In the first three months of 2013, the JCSC has with change of duty station. Nevertheless, DPKO been deployed to various countries hosting peace is actively seeking, together with the Depart- operations. ment of Field Support (DFS) and in dialogue and consultation with United Nations member states, It cooperated in the justice sector with the further financial avenues to enable the JCSC GFP in a joint assessment conducted in Libya to fully execute its mandates for timely and (UNSMIL), which led to concrete offers of as- sustained support in the rule of law area. sistance to the mission and the UNCT in the areas of military justice, constitutional law and The way forward corrections. The JCSC will continue its rule of law Moreover, the JCSC was invited by UNMISS mission from Brindisi. The last several years have to train newly recruited corrections officers on witnessed a variety of new and newly emerging crisis substantive, operational and best practices/les- situations in need of a coherent response in the sons learned related issues. areas of justice and corrections. Examples in point are Mali and Somalia, for which the JCSC In Haiti, upon request of MINUSTAH, the is currently preparing to deploy. Together with JCSC has assisted the Corrections Advisory the SPC, the JCSC is best equipped to provide Unit with the development of strategic plan- this response in a rapid and effective fashion. ning documents to support the Direction de Additionally, the GFP arrangement repre- l’Administration Pénitentiaire in the areas of sents a great opportunity to further pool rapidly capacity building and sustainable training pro- deployable expertise within the UN family, to grammes, pre-trial detention, infrastructure “Deliver as One” and to widen the spectrum of rule rehabilitation and the protection of vulnerable of law assistance beyond the borders of peacekeeping. groups, in particular women and children.

In Guinea-Bissau, the JCSC was requested by the United Nations Integrated Peacebuild- Contact ing Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) to conduct an assessment of the prison sector in Carsten Weber, Team Leader the country and suggest to the mission how it Justice and Corrections Standing Capacity can enhance its support to meet the identified United Nations Global Service Center challenges with respect to the legal framework, Piazza del Vento 1 capacity development and coordination. The 72011 Brindisi - Italy recommendations of the assessment report + 39 0831 056781(office) subsequently informed a Technical Assessment +39 34 55 82 17 90 (mobile) Mission carried out in March 2013, in which the JCSC also participated. JCSC Designed by: Bryan Joseph Sabroso/PIO Standing Police Capacity