Posted on 01/08/2005 8:17:34 AM PST by crushelits
UN peacekeepers in Congo sexually abused and exploited women and girls, some as young as 13, according to a report released by a UN watchdog today.
Sexual contact between peacekeepers and Congolese women and girls occurred regularly, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money, an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services found.
The problems were “serious and ongoing” and it was ”disturbing” that there was no deterrence or protection programme, the report said by the UN oversight agency said.
Sexual activities continued even while the investigation was going on, the OIOS found, noting that freshly used condoms were left near military camps and guard posts.
“It was clear that the investigation did not act as a deterrent for some of the troops, perhaps because they had not been made aware of the severe penalties for engaging in such conduct, nor had they seen any evidence of a negative impact on individual peacekeepers for such behaviour,” the report said.
The investigators said military commanders from some contingents had tried to block their work.
“On several occasions, the commanders of these contingents either failed to provide the requested information or assistance or actively interfered with the investigation,” the report said.
The team investigated 72 allegations against both military and civilian UN personnel, which resulted in 20 case reports. One case involved a UN civilian; the others, peacekeepers.
“In six cases, the allegations against the peacekeepers were fully substantiated, and underage girls were involved in all of them,” the report said, adding that none of the peacekeepers admitted to the allegations.
It recommended that the countries that sent the peacekeepers should take appropriate action.
In other cases the evidence was either convincing, but not fully substantiated or could not be corroborated, according to the report.
The investigators said there were several reasons why identification was difficult. Sometimes there had only been one encounter, or the victims had met the perpetrators in the dark, or they were unable to distinguish one non-Congolese from another, or the events had taken place too long ago.
“However, dozens of interviews with the girls themselves and with the young Congolese men who facilitated the encounters, as well as with aid workers, revealed a pattern of sexual exploitation by peacekeepers,” the report said.
Many girls in Bunia had been raped or sexually abused by local warring factions. Left without family or means of support, the presence of the peacekeepers “augmented the problem” according to the report.
In one case, a 14 year-old girl was given about €1.50 and two eggs in return for sex. She was able to identify the soldier because he had a broken arm. She had sex with another soldier in return for €2.20 and a packet of milk.
Another 14 year-old girl was given €1.50, chocolate and bread in return for sex. A 13-year-old girl said she and her friends would go to the camp to have sex with different soldiers for between €2.20 and €3.50 for each sexual encounter
Who else should I hold accountable for bowing obsequiously toward this corrupt and rotten world scam-artist? Bush is POTUS, with both houses of Congress and a favorable Supreme Court and the backing of the people. He chose to genuflect. I don't.
This UN comedy has been going on for about eight years now, starting with a force of 500 they have, through successive resolutions, worked the military contingent up to 16,800 plus an unspecified number of "civilian" peacekeepers. The current UN budget is about 3/4 of a billion dollars a year with a list of about 25 countries contributing personnel - most of them from other African countries. In short, the Congo peace project has turned into a long term make work project for underemployed UN apparatchik's, another source of "jobs for the boys" and justification for taking expensive "fact finding" holiday luxury travel junkets to Africa at taxpayers expense.
I suspect that the rapists and kiddie diddler's must be from the UN African country contingents because from what I've heard from friends who have spent time in these parts of Africa, the hygiene conditions would dissuade most Europeans from close fraternization with the local females.
...and with the young Congolese men who facilitated the encounters,...
What the heck!
Oh sure, I feel real safe with the "World's Army"!
The article noted that often the identification of the troops involved was difficult because it was too dark. If it's too dark to identify the guy, then how was the trooper supposed to be able to accurately tell the age of the hooker?
I dislike the UN as much as anybody here, but much of this is a hit job. Troops far away from home will tend to try to hook up with the local girls unless kept on a very tight leash.
Next, if your whole mission is to provide humanitarian aid obtained from other people's funds, requiring sex in exchange, or even appearing to, is hardly professional. Hopefully this isn't something that the US military would condone. Sexual bribery of underage girls is not the same as "hooking up" with the locals.
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