U.N. must do more to ensure peacekeepers follow new rules against sex abuse, report says

Sign on San Diego ^ | 10.19.05 | Edith M. Lederer

[Coleus]

UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations must do more to ensure its peacekeepers follow new rules against sex abuse, according to a new report by an independent refugee organization that found a "boys will be boys" culture still prevails in many military missions. The report released Tuesday by Refugees International – "Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in U.N. Peacekeeping Missions" – said a "hyper-masculine culture" has evolved among peacekeepers who bond together and erect a "wall of silence" to shield themselves from outside criticism.

The U.N. instituted a policy of zero tolerance of sex abuse and zero contact this year following an investigation that found U.N. peacekeepers in Congo had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money.

"Until there is a better understanding of the zero-contact rule, peacekeepers will continue to think of it as a rule that makes no sense," said Sarah Martin, a Refugees International campaigner who wrote the report. "Fear of punishment is not enough to ensure compliance."

Sexual abuse has been reported in U.N. peacekeeping missions from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East Timor, West Africa and Congo.

Even in countries where prostitution is illegal, solicitation by men in U.N. peacekeeping missions is considered commonplace, and colleagues are reluctant to report sexual misconduct, the new report said.

Undersecretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno, the top U.N. peacekeeping official, acknowledged Wednesday that troops need to undergo a "cultural shift" and that the United Nations needs to get to a point where zero-tolerance is a reality.

"It's an ongoing battle. It's not going to be resolved quickly," said Undersecretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno, the top U.N. peacekeeping official. "We've been fighting. We're behind, but we're catching up."

Martin said that in Liberia when the U.N. representative made bars off-limits "people started having parties in private homes."

"It was still going on, it just wasn't publicly visible," she said. "People just stopped going to those bars and discos but the behavior didn't change."

Refugees International made a series of recommendations including hiring more male gender advisers for U.N. peacekeeping missions. This would "counterbalance the idea that gender issues can only be addressed by women," it said.

Following the revelations about abuse by peacekeepers in Congo, Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein wrote a report in March that described the U.N. military arm as deeply flawed. He made recommendations, including withholding salaries of the guilty and requiring nations to pursue legal action against perpetrators.

Guehenno said France's recent decision to discipline one of its peacekeepers who was accused of engaging in sexual abuse sends a good signal.

"It sends the kind of message that will gradually transform the attitudes of all missions," he said.

Guehenno said he appreciated the continued focus from non-governmental organizations like Refugees International.

"We need to keep the pressure," he said.

[EagleUSA]

The U.N. - why waste any more time and taxpayer money on these filthy pukes.

[evad]

The United Nations must do more to ensure its peacekeepers follow new rules ..

keeeerist...what were the old rules?
Do we really need RULES that tell "peacekeepers" that they're not supposed to sexually abuse the populace"?
is there no decent human behavior that's taken as a given?

God!!! I detest the UN and everything it stands for.