| Peacekeeper sex abuse in burundi Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17278024.htmhttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17278024.htm
UN reports sex abuse among peacekeepers in Burundi 17 Dec 2004 22:58:55 GMT
Source: Reuters By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Two U.N. peacekeeping soldiers are being investigated for "sexual misconduct" in Burundi following a probe into at least 68 separate cases of sexual abuse in neighboring Congo, the United Nations said on Friday.
Revelations of such abuses are usually kept quiet at the United Nations until reporters or individual countries disclose the news, as happened in Cambodia in the early 1990s and later in Somalia, Bosnia and Ethiopia. But recently, the world body is taking the offensive in announcing probes,
The soldiers in Burundi, whose nationalities or abuses were not revealed, have been suspended from duty in line with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's "zero-tolerance for sexual exploitation," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
"The two soldiers are currently under investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct this past weekend in Muyinga," in the northeast near the Tanzanian border, he said.
In the Congo, the United Nations is conducting a major probe into accusations of pedophilia, rape and prostitution against some 68 peacekeepers, including some from Pakistan, Uruguay, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Nepal and France. In addition, three U.N. civilian staff have been suspended.
Most of the cases involve the soliciting of prostitutes, but some include rape and bribing children with food in exchange for sex. At least one accusation concerns the abduction and rape of a 10-year-old girl, U.N. officials said.
Latest reports accuse several peacekeepers of seeking to block the U.N. probe, with some threatening investigators and seeking to bribe witnesses.
The United Nations has jurisdiction over its own civilian staff but troops are contributed by individual nations. Consequently, the world body has only the power to demand a specific country repatriate an accused soldier and punish him or her at home.
Jordan's U.N. ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, who has served in peacekeeping operations, was appointed by Annan as a special adviser on sexual exploitation. One of his tasks is to persuade governments to act on charges against their soldiers.
There are 5,000 peacekeepers in Burundi and nearly 11,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help keep the peace amid civil wars in both countries. Carolyn McAskie of Canada is head of the Burundi mission and William Lacy Swing, a former U.S. ambassador, leads the Congo operation.
Jane Holl Lute, an assistant secretary-general in the U.N. peacekeeping department, last month told reporters there was photographic and video evidence for some of the charges. She said there were 150 allegations but did not say how many people this involved.
Annan has defended the vast majority of U.N. personnel abroad as decent and well-meaning. Some 64,000 military personnel and civilian police are serving in 16 missions around the globe.
He has issued new rules that ban staff from paying for sex and having sex with girls younger than 18, among other regulations.
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