Standard Operating Procedure on Boards of Inquiry (2024)

The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to provide United Nations personnel with guidance on the establishment and conduct of Boards of Inquiry (BOI). This SOP describes what Boards of Inquiry are, when and how they shall be convened, what their purpose is, and the procedures that govern their functioning. In addition to the BOI process, this SOP confirms responsibilities for investigations/fact-finding into serious occurrences which precede a BOI. This SOP establishes the range of serious occurrences affecting United Nations operations, their personnel, and their assets which require the convening of a BOI. This SOP supersedes and replaces the SOP on Boards of Inquiry DOS/2020.10 and all earlier guidance and instructions on BOI that have been issued by circular, facsimile, cable, or other methods of communication.