Part II Commentaries to Typical Sofa Rules, 24 Deceased Members

Subject(s):

Military assistance — Military matters — Peace keeping

This chapter deals with situations involving deceased members of a UN peacekeeping operation. Para. 50 of the UN Model SOFA, which continues to be included verbatim in recent mission-specific status-of-forces agreements (SOFAs), establishes the right of the UN to take charge of and dispose of the body of a member of the mission, should they while in service of the peacekeeping operation in the host country. The UN has established procedures as to how this is done in practical terms, including in respect of notifying the next of kin, conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death, administering benefits and entitlements to dependents as applicable, and ensuring official recognition of service. This provision has not been particularly controversial with Host States. Where questions have arisen they have related to accountability for attacks on UN peacekeepers and the need to collect and store evidence.