User:LTCJMJ/sandbox/Celhia de Lavarene, Chief, Special Operations Tracking Program

To Whom It May Concern:

“I take strong umbrage at the characterization of Mr. Klein’s role as the head of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Firstly, the United Nations Mission in BiH had no police enforcement powers, or powers of arrest. Our only recourse in the case of local nationals was to cajole the police and local judicial authorities to take action and in the case of international personnel assigned to the UN Mission to request their withdrawal from the country. In each case UN Headquarters and the sending states had to approve.

We were trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare – even though reforms were underway, corruption was still rampant. The local judicial and police authorities were far from reformed, and with thousands of SFOR troops, civilian contractors and hundr3ds of non-governmental organizations on the ground the challenges were enormous.

In the context of police reform, we quickly discovered that trafficking in human beings in the Balkans was a greater problem than anyone had imagined. Because of the years of bitter warfare, breakdown of traditional institutions and the rule of law, the problem was extensive and widespread.

Even without a without a formal mandate, Mr. Klein felt that something had to be done. I had just left the Mission, where I was in charge of organizing the return of Bosniacs to Srebrenica, and was back in New York when Mr. Klein called me and asked me to come back in order to create a program to fight human trafficking for sexual exploitation. I still remember his exact words: “ I don’t want any of my staff exploiting young girls who have been forced into prostitution.”  That is how the Special Trafficking Operations Program (STOP) came to life. In spite of New York’s concern that we were exceeding our mandate ultimately some 250 local and international police officers were involved in the program. In spite of many critics who argued such a program was not in our mandate, that we had no executive authority to carry it out and that no personnel positions were designated for any such effort, Mr. Klein directed that we press on.

We followed the old Balkan maxim, “the dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on.” Hundreds of bars and brothels were raided – day and night – and in the first ever such effort over 300 women from Russia, Romania, Moldova and the Ukraine were repatriated. Several safe houses were established which provided victims counseling and a safe haven while they were waiting to be repatriated.

Within the Mission Mr. Klein requested New York headquarters to recall the Deputy Commissioner of the International Police Task Force and 24 other international police officers, among them eight Americans. Subsequent to their repatriation, member states of the United Nations assumed the responsibility for initiating appropriate disciplinary or legal action. In one case a member state unilaterally withdrew two of their own IPTF officers.

Rather than criticism, Mr. Klein deserves kudos for his singular efforts and was so recognized by the Secretary General of the United Nations, the American Secretary of State and by an entry in the Congressional Record.

In closing let me reiterate that the UNMiBH Mission successfully reformed, restructured and downsized a 44,000 pre-war police force to approximately 16,000 trained, vetted and equipped law enforcement personnel in ethnically integrated and accountable structures. The STOP Task Force identified approximately 249 criminal establishments, conducted 8565 raids and permanently closed more than 300 of them. In conjunction with the International Office of Migration, the UNMBiH Mission repatriated over 300 women to their countries of origin. These efforts were not without an element of danger: ongoing harassment and threats were commonplace.

The international arena is full of spoilers. It is an old truism that those who are doing nothing are often the first to criticize those who are for not doing enough. The credit should go to those who have actually been in the arena and fought the good fight.”

Celhia de Lavarene Chief Special Operations Tracking Program