UN troops face child abuse claims

[Guest guest]

This Liberian teenager claims she became pregant following abuse

Children have been subjected to rape and prostitution by United

Nations peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia, a BBC investigation has

found.

Girls have told of regular encounters with soldiers where sex is

demanded in return for food or money.

 

A senior official with the organisation has accepted the claims are

credible.

 

The UN has faced several scandals involving its troops in recent

years, including a DR Congo paedophile ring and prostitute

trafficking in Kosovo.

 

The assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations

acknowledges that sexual abuse is widespread.

 

" We've had a problem probably since the inception of peacekeeping -

problems of this kind of exploitation of vulnerable populations, "

Jane Holl Lute told the BBC.

 

" My operating presumption is that this is either a problem or a

potential problem in every single one of our missions. "

 

'Rampant'

 

The BBC inquiry was commissioned as part of Generation Next - a week

of programmes focusing on people under 18.

 

 

The BBC's Mike Williams with a teenager who claims she was raped by a

Brazilian serviceman

 

In Haiti, a street girl as young as 11 reported sexual abuse by

peacekeepers outside the gates of the presidential palace in Port-au-

Prince.

 

A 14-year-old described her abduction and rape inside a UN naval base

in the country two years ago.

 

Despite detailed medical and circumstantial evidence, the allegation

was dismissed by the UN for lack of evidence - and the alleged

attacker returned to his home country.

 

In Liberia, meanwhile, a 15-year-old said she had been attacked by a

UN officer on 15 November.

 

In May this year, another BBC investigation discovered systematic

abuse in Liberia, involving food being given out to teenage refugees

in return for sex.

 

The UN responded by heightening policing measures, appointing 500

monitors across the country, and introducing mandatory training of

all personnel on appropriate conduct.

 

A local NGO worker said reports of sexual abuse involving

peacekeepers were " still rampant, despite pronouncements that they

have been curbed " .

 

'Culture of silence'

 

UN chief Kofi Annan has pledged a policy of " zero tolerance " .

 

To prey upon the very populations that you are sent to protect is

one of the worst forms of violation and betrayal that there is

 

Sarah Martin

Refugees International

The UN's own figures show 316 peacekeeping personnel in all missions

have been investigated, resulting in the summary dismissal of 18

civilians, repatriation of 17 members of Formed Police Units and 144

repatriations or rotations home on disciplinary grounds.

 

However allegations remain that measures to police and curb

misconduct are nowhere near as strong as they should be.

 

Refugees International says there remains a " culture of silence " in

some military deployments, and fear of punishment is not enough to

ensure compliance with UN rules.

 

" They may be military men but they are also humanitarian workers, "

Sarah Martin told the BBC.

 

" To prey upon the very populations that you are sent to protect is

one of the worst forms of violation and betrayal that there is. "

 

Under UN regulations, military personnel cannot be prosecuted in the

country where they are serving, and it is up to the courts in their

home countries to prosecute crimes committed.

 

The UN said it had firm knowledge of only two concrete examples of

sex offenders being sent to jail, although it believed there could be

others it did not know about.