Peacekeepers 'abusing children'

[City Lights]

Source: BBC

Peacekeepers 'abusing children'

Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.

Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children.

After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity said an international watchdog should be created to deal with the issue.

The UN has said it welcomes the report, which it will study closely.

Save the Children said the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm

[seriousstan]

1. UN peace keeping troops abusing children? Where have I heard that before?

Only everywhere. Some won't these pedophiles sent into Darfur. I guess there are not enough children to rape in the Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti.

[ohio2007]

2. Problem is the UN won't prosecute the troops from "the nations" that participate in peacekeeping

missions out of fear the reliable peacekeeping nations will continue to shoulder the burden as the worlds policeman and pull funding.

[struggle4progress]

11. The agreements under which nations serve prevent UN from prosecuting:

prosecution is up to the nation supplying the soldiers

[jjr5]

3. Peacekeepers 'abusing children'

Source: BBC

Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.

Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children.

After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity said an international watchdog should be created to deal with the issue.

The UN has said it welcomes the report, which it will study closely.

Save the Children said the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm

---

This is deplorable! I hope the international community takes notice of this and that our country does something about this too. So horrible.

[junior college]

4. Who are these peacekeepers?

[Judi Lynn]

5. Don't hesitate to check the linked article for more information. n/t

[junior college]

6. yeah but it's vague and limited research gives no answers

[Judi Lynn]

7. The story does reflect molested children are reluctant to tell others due to understandable fear.

What child wouldn't hope and pray the people with the guns would just go away and leave them in peace, rather than trying to inform on them and hacking them off?

Don't know what you're communicating. Do you have a beef with the article? If you want more info., feel free to check the internetS.

[Psephos]

10. Here are a couple of more perspectives

http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2889

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/un-child-sex-abuse-shock-1388227.html


This stuff has been going on for years. Never seems to get either the coverage or the reaction it deserves. I wonder why. :eyes:

[14thColony]

9. It usually varies considerably

Rarely does a single country contribute all the troops. Sometimes as few as 10-12 from a single nation in a larger contingent. The peacekeeping operation in the Ivory Coast, for examples, is UNOCI - the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. UNOCI has 1,500 peacekeepers and police from: Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Chad, China, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In 2007 the Moroccan unit in UNOCI was suspended for allegations of widespread sexual abuse of refugees. UN investigation found no evidence and the unit was re-instated.

For a lot of the smaller/poorer countries, UN peacekeeping is a moneymaker. I can't remember what the UN pays the contributing government per soldier per day, but it's often many many times that country's cost per soldier per day, therefore the more troops that government sends, the more they stand to gain. Since it is sometimes seen as a moneymaker, the quality of the troops sent is in those cases considered secondary. I would honestly wonder in some cases if some soldiers are even being told what they're supposed to be there for. For the soldiers, who (since they're a long way from their country) might not get paid at all during their tour, they have been known in some cases to resort to theft, extortion, etc. to make a little side money. Not a great leap from there to other forms of power-based abuse.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Reuters: Child abuse by aidworkers, peacekeepers rife-study

Child abuse by aidworkers, peacekeepers rife-study
Mon 26 May 2008, 22:01 GMT

Text By David Clarke

LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - Sexual abuse of children by aid workers and peacekeepers is rife and efforts to protect young people are inadequate, said a report published on Tuesday.

The study by charity Save the Children UK said there were significant levels of abuse in emergencies, much of it unreported and unless the silence ended, attempts to stamp out exploitation would "remain fundamentally flawed".

Accusations of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers around the world have increased in recent years and the United Nations is investigating claims against its soldiers in hotspots such as Haiti, Liberia, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report said while the U.N. and some non-governmental organisations were stepping up efforts to address the problem, a global watchdog should be established this year to monitor attempts to tackle abuse and champion effective responses.

Save the Children based its findings on visits last year to Haiti, Southern Sudan and Ivory Coast. It held 38 focus group discussions with 250 children and 90 adults, followed up by in-depth interviews with some and desk-based research.

The study found a huge range of exploitation and abuse: children trading sex for food, forced sex, verbal sexual abuse, child prostitution, child pornography, sexual slavery, sexual assault and child trafficking.

The focus groups identified children as young as six as having been abused, although most were aged 14 to 15.

U.N. peacekeepers were identified as the most likely perpetrators by 20 of the 38 groups, although a total of 23 humanitarian, peacekeeping and security organisations were associated with sexual abuse in the three countries.

More:
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL26146160.html

[marshall]

12. Interesting that they put "abusing children" in quotes

Like they don't exactly believe it.