Posted on 05/06/2005 6:53:45 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
UN sexual allegations double
Allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN staff more than doubled last year, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said in a report.
Most of the allegations, which include rape, sexual assault and sex with minors, involved UN peacekeepers.
Mr Annan says he is "deeply troubled" by the increase but warns the number may rise further.
Allegations of misconduct among troops in DR Congo in 2003 sparked an inquiry and an overhaul of procedures.
Exploitation claims
"The increase in allegations is deeply troubling," Mr Annan says in the report.
"Although allegations have doubled since 2003, the Secretariat is aware that the data may still not reflect the true extent of these deplorable incidents."
A total of 121 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were registered last year.
The majority of these - 105 in total - were levelled against peacekeepers.
The report says more may come to light as people feel more confident that reporting incidents will result in action.
Curfews
Almost half of the complaints against the peacekeeping troops involved sex with a minor and 15% involved rape or sexual assault.
Some 77,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed on missions including those in Ivory Coast, Liberia, DR Congo, Cambodia, Kosovo and East Timor.
Ten claims were also made against UN civilian personnel working for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
The UN has recently published a series of guidelines to change the way peacekeeping operations are run.
The proposals include withholding pay for peacekeepers found guilty of sexual abuse, creating a fund to assist the victims, and establishing a uniform set of rules so that all peacekeepers - troops and civilians - are held to the same standards of conduct.
The report said that missions in Ivory Coast, Liberia, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kosovo and East Timor have already established no-go areas for peacekeepers.
A non-fraternisation policy has also been introduced.
Some 53 uniformed peacekeepers were sent home last year after allegations made against them were substantiated, the report says.
A telling phrase. ;)
Where's your outrage on this? Why didn't this make the news? And what nationalities are involved? And why aren't the guilty publicly named?
Can he say nothing else ?
Gee, I hope they didn't get their desert taken away too...
Every time I think Kofi can't sink any lower, he succeeds in doing just that.
These liberals are always "deeply troubled". Telling people that emotion is a substitute for concrete action. The stupid , emotional public gives the "troublee" an A for compassion and sympathy and everyone moves on.
Thats how to crack down on child rapists!! And if you do it again, we will send you home for a week without pay! Maybe we should try this in the U.S. against pedophiles - much harsher then jail time, right?
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