Four Minors in Central African Region (CAR) were allegedly sexually abused by the United Nations troops for peacekeeping in Bangui. UN peacekeeping is now having an investigation about the matter.
According to The Guardian, new allegations of sexual abuse to minors are being thrown at UN peacekeepers in CAR. A UN spokesperson said that they received a claim of the abuse on Monday and asked for further investigations from the countries where the troops were gathered. The countries weren't named and according to the UN rule, it is up to the countries' law as to what punishments will the accused soldiers receive. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN secretary general, did not also state how many soldiers were involved in the said case.
Reuters reported that international panels not related to UN were accusing them and some of its agencies of mishandling accusations of child sexual abuse in 2013 and 2014 by international peacekeepers in Central African Republic last month. The mission in CAR, also known as MINUSCA is investigating the new claims. Head of MINUSCA, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, had meetings with U.N. human rights office in Geneva and discussed ways of fighting sexual abuse. To stop the abuses, the head likes to form a police brigade that would identify perpetrators.
On Tuesday, UN Security Council discussed the new scandal in a closed-door meeting encouraging actions to stop the repeated cases. France24 said many of the ambassadors from different countries are sick and tired of the issue. After the meeting, New Zealand's Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen told reporters that, calls are there for the council to be given definite information about what is going on in reply to these accusations. This month, Uruguay's ambassador, Elbio Rosselli, president of the Security Council said that as a troop contributor, his country expected "zero tolerance" of sexual abuse. MINUSCA head Onanga-Anyanga said, "There is no place in U.N. peacekeeping for those who betray the trust of the people we are here to help."
Just last year, UN was faced with a news about UN peacekeepers who engaged in "transactional sex" with hundreds of women in Haiti and elsewhere, in exchange for food and medication. There were reports too that French and African troops in CAR had forced children to do sexual acts in return for food.
