Global Policy Forum

UN Decries Peacekeeper Sex Abuse

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CNN
May 31, 2005

The U.N. Security Council has condemned acts of sexual exploitation by U.N. peacekeeping troops, and thrown its support behind a U.N. report on eliminating sexual exploitation in peacekeeping operations.

"The Security Council is deeply concerned with the allegations of sexual misconduct by U.N. peacekeeping personnel," the council's statement read. The 15-member security council also noted that these "unacceptable" acts of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by a few have compromised the professional work of the entire U.N. peacekeeping personnel. The statement added that the secretary-general and all member states hold a "shared responsibility" to ensure that these reported acts are "properly investigated and appropriately punished." In addition, the Security Council expressed its support for the U.N. report on strategies to eliminate such acts of sexual violence.

A report in March based on analysis by Jordan's U.N. ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, spelled out for the first time ways to combat the problem of sexual abuse in peacekeeping missions. The recommendations included:

  • Setting uniform standards of conduct for all national contingents;
  • Publishing peacekeeping rules in the languages of the troops;
  • Investigating allegations by professionals using modern forensic methods such as fingerprinting, blood testing and DNA testing;
  • And a permanent professional investigative capacity, including professionals with experience in investigating sex crimes, "especially those involving children," and courts-martial conducted in the countries where the crimes are alleged to have occurred.

    The report also proposed financial accountability for those who father children -- including the establishment of a trust fund for children and the docking of pay.

    The head of U.N. peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, warned the Security Council on Tuesday that "the number of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse will probably increase, not decrease" as the United Nations started to take greater action on the problem. The warning that things will get worse before they get better has become a common theme among U.N. officials addressing the problem of sexual abuse among peacekeepers. Asked after the meeting what areas the United Nations was concerned about, Guehenno said it would "have to watch with particular attention" Liberia and Haiti, places where troops were in "broken societies." He added there was "no mystery" in guessing where the problem would next surface. "When you have a big deployment, the risks are higher than when you have a small deployment," he said.

    After reports of widespread sexual abuse of civilians by members of the large U.N. mission in the Congo, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced in February a policy of "non-fraternization" -- banning sex between peacekeepers and the local population. Asked if this policy would be introduced into all missions, Guehenno said it should be left up to the leadership of each mission. "In Congo we had a very bad situation that needed to be addressed by very drastic measures," he said. "In general this is a policy that needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis." He referred instead to measures such as "pre-deployment training, sensitization of personnel, and hotlines" as means of combating the problem of sexual abuse by peacekeepers.

    More Information on the Security Council
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    FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.