technical qualifications and requirements, for example, police skills and experience, language and literacy proficiencies, knowledge of firearms, the ability to drive vehicles, physical and mental fitness, and so on. DPKO then provides further training in relevant police and related skills, including the teaching of basic human rights norms. If it transpires that during such training, or afterwards when posted to UNCIVPOL duties, officers are not up to the minimum standards, or if they commit crimes or otherwise misconduct themselves, there are clear mechanisms to deal with such eventualities, including early repatriation.70 Even ‘rogue’ Member States will wish to avoid the expense and embarrassment of early repatriation, and will therefore presumably seek to ensure that only properly qualified officers volunteer. However, there is nothing to stop torturers or other perpetrators of human rights abuses coming forward, provided that they have the necessary police skills, and provided further that they ‘curtail’ their brutality while on UN duty. REDRESS submits that the UN in general and DPKO in particular need urgently to address this problem. The Guidelines state that the policy is to draw UNCIVPOL officers from as a wide a geographical spread of Member States as possible.71 While it is true that every police force in the world has its bad elements, it is also true that in many countries under authoritarian rule police brutality is commonplace; in extreme cases, such as Zimbabwe, the police play an open, crucial and bloody role in keeping a corrupt and unlawful government in power. There is a real and constant danger, therefore, that in looking to such Member States to supply UN police officers, torturers are going to be amongst them. Any UN and DPKO ‘preventative screening mechanisms’ must obviously apply across the board to all Member States, as it would be difficult and invidious if not illegal to discriminate against a country with a negative human rights record. For a start, it should be made clear to all Member States that no police officer ‘with dirty hands’ is ever acceptable in UNCIVPOL. While at present this is implied, it should be made an explicit condition of all bilateral and multi-lateral civilian police peacekeeping agreements. Furthermore, Member States need to be subject to clear procedures if they DPKO is that they are fluent in English and have a valid driver’s licence. In order to allay our concerns we would be grateful if you could confirm the other requirements requested in relation to the potential candidate’s experience and skills.” No reply has yet been received. 70 Thus an UNMIK document obtained by REDRESS entitled General Background, Mandate, Mission, Functions, Organisation and Requirements includes the following: “Early Repatriation. If a CIVPOL is repatriated for either failure to meet the necessary requirements, or disciplinary reasons, all costs associated with his/her travel home and arrival of his/her replacement to complete the tour of duty will be at the expense of the CIVPOL’s government.” The same document also deals with the “Legal Status” of CIVPOL as follows: “Civilian Police are considered as experts on mission within the meaning of Article VI of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United nations (1946) and they enjoy the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in that article wherever they perform missions for the United Nations. These privileges and immunities are granted in the interest of the United Nations and not for the benefit of individuals. The secretary-general has the right and duty to waive the immunity in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice. Such a waiver shall be without prejudice to the interest of the United Nations.” It is clear that this provision does not cover conduct that occurred outside of Kosovo prior to an officer joining CIVPOL. It is equally clear and has long been recognized as a principle of international law that there can be no immunities barring the prosecution of those accused of crimes under international law, particularly crimes recognized as jus cogens – see the Memorandum of Law (supra), page 3 and especially footnote 16 thereat. 71 Some 49 Member States have sent police officers to Kosovo. 16