Dark side of UN peacekeeping - an insult to peacekeeping operations
I cannot put into words how anguished and angered and ashamed I am by recurrent reports over the years of sex abuse and exploitation by UN forces. I will not tolerate any action that causes people to replace trust with fear. — Ban Ki-moon
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The world has in recent times been inundated with the sickening reports of sexual abuse scandals perpetrated by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers who have been entrusted with the mandate by the Security Council to maintain international peace and security in conflict-ravaged countries.
So grievous are the scandals that the Council last month passed its first-ever resolution to tackle this alarming and escalating problem that has brought the reputation of the world body into serious question.
Last year, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) was sacked by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, over his force's handling of series of sexual and other misconduct allegations. Many other top UN officials have also resigned over the same issues.
Mandate of UN peacekeeping operations
The UN Charter gives the Security Council the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The Council can establish a UN peacekeeping operation to fulfil this responsibility.
It is on this basis that in 1948, the Security Council authorised the first deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East. The mission's role was to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours — an operation which became known as the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO).
The UN has so far deployed 69 peacekeeping missions to several countries devastated by war with hundreds of thousands of military personnel, as well as tens of thousands of UN police and other civilians. More than 120 countries have participated in peacekeeping operations since 1948.
History of sex abuse allegations
The problem of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers is not limited to one mission. Sexual abuse by personnel on peacekeeping operations has seriously undermined the credibility of peace missions.
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It would be difficult to pinpoint when the first-ever case of sexual abuse was recorded. However, record-keeping and data tracking of allegations of misconduct and subsequent actions started in 2006. Prior to that, there had been allegations which were not seriously investigated.
Historic cases of sexual abuse cases have taken place in Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia, while soldiers from the African Union deployed in Somalia and DR Congo were found to have sexually abused and exploited at least 21 women and girls.
The issue has gained prominence in recent times after an international non-governmental organisation requested the help of the UN peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), after reports emerged that female minors were being sexually assaulted and raped by peacekeeping troops in Bangui, the capital of CAR.
The CAR case, in addition to that of DR Congo, seem to have given a new dimension of the gravity of the allegations.
Bizarre incidents
Last year, a report by the UN’s office of internal oversight revealed that peacekeepers frequently paid for sex with cash, jewellery, fancy underwear, dresses, perfume, cellphones and other items.
A June 2015 study by professors at New York University, the University of Chicago and Emory indicated that UN peacekeepers engaged in transactional sex with as many as 58,000 women and girls in Monrovia, Liberia, from 2003 to 2012. Most of the respondents interviewed said they were under age 18 when they began to have sexual relations with the UN personnel.
There were also reported cases of French soldiers accused of raping young boys in exchange for food and money in CAR. Perhaps, the most bizarre of all the allegations in that country was the report by a US-based advocacy group, AIDS-Free World, which revealed the gruesome story about three girls in Bangui who were tied up by a French military commander and forced to have sex with a dog in 2014. Most of the allegations relate to French, Burundian and Gabonese contingents and are also among the latest in a disturbing pattern of sexual abuse that has spanned across peacekeeping missions.
Several peacekeepers from the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) were in 2013 filmed raping an 18-year-old man. Footage of the abuse was taken with a mobile phone and was subsequently streamed online. Four Uruguayan peacekeepers were identified as having participated in the rape and the head of the Uruguayan contingent of MINUSTAH was immediately dismissed. MINUSTAH was set up after the 2004 uprising ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and plunged the country into a long period of instability.
Peacekeeping missions to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina were not left out in the unending implications. As revelations surfaced that eight young girls had sex with peacekeeping troops from Benin in exchange for food in 2010 in Cote d’Ivoire, two French soldiers were suspended last year over allegations of sexually abusing two children while on peacekeeping mission in Burkina Faso.
In Mali, a woman revealed she had been raped by a number of soldiers belonging to the Chadian contingent of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The MINUSMA peacekeeping force was created in July 2013 in order to keep the peace and protect civilians after a conflict with armed jihadist erupted a year earlier.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) identified 10 cases of sexual abuse and rape in 2009. Four Moroccan soldiers, recognised by their victims, were subsequently found guilty and imprisoned. These cases followed the shocking revelations that peacekeeping soldiers were implicated in 140 cases involving sexual abuse from December 2004 to August 2006 in DRC.
Why sexual abuse is a problem with UN peacekeepers
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It is important to understand the vulnerability of the communities where the peacekeepers are stationed. Civilians and local populations are constantly subjected to all kinds of violence. This is because, in war situations, there are problems of breakdown of local governance, security and often food shortages. These challenges are among many others that leave such populations vulnerable to abuse.
As Sarah Taylor, a women's rights advocate with Human Rights Watch, observed:“Part of the issue has to do with the way the organisation (UN) is structured. The high demand for UN peacekeepers means that the organisation is constantly scrambling for personnel — so training and oversight take a hit. And if peacekeepers engage in sexual abuse, the UN cannot punish them directly. They are under the legal protection of their home countries.”
“The UN is dependent on troop-contributing countries for the staff that makes up these missions. And there is usually shortage of troops. There are no consequences for these countries if their soldiers commit abuse and there is no way the UN is not going to accept your troops.”
Actions
As mentioned, the UN has no direct punitive actions against the troops.Troop-contributing countries are left to take actions against their representatives.
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The good news is that, in recent times, soldiers from DR Congo and Tanzania who have been mentioned in sex abuse allegations have been put on trial by their respective countries. A group of 11 Tanzanian peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in DR Congo are also facing paternity claims from their alleged victims.
Three Congolese men from the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR wore blue prison gear as they appeared before a tribunal in Ndolo, a military prison north of the capital Kinshasa, early this month.
What the UN can do
The UN has to show strong leadership within the organisation. It must put in place measures to follow up on cases and report regularly on allegations, even if it is a resolution to tackle the issue with all seriousness.
The organisation must also provide support and counselling for victims of abuse. Victims are often left without medical attention, particularly those children who have been impregnated by the perpetrators.
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The UN must also ensure that countries with repeat offenders case will not be allowed to provide troops until they demonstrate that they have addressed the problem.
Writer’s email: matthew.odartey@graphic.com.gh