Despite Promises, U.N. Fails to Break Pattern of Sex Abuse by Peacekeepers

Despite Promises, U.N. Fails to Break Pattern of Sex Abuse by Peacekeepers
Soldiers stand during the inauguraton of Mali’s United Nations peacekeeping mission, Bamako, Mali, July 1, 2013 (AP photo by Harouna Traore).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

As United Nations peacekeeping missions struggle to adapt to sharp budget cuts, one of the factors that could affect future funding levels is the organization’s response to persistent allegations of sexual abuse by U.N. troops. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council earlier this year, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned that the U.S. could withdraw money for missions that fail to combat abuse and hold perpetrators accountable.

New evidence of the U.N.’s shortcomings in cracking down on the problem emerged ahead of this week’s U.N. General Assembly. On Sept. 13, a campaign by the NGO AIDS-Free World revealed the contents of leaked files documenting the U.N.’s response to 14 abuse allegations in the Central African Republic involving peacekeepers from nine different countries, eight of them African. In eight of the cases, fact-finders did not interview alleged victims. In two other cases, alleged victims “were interviewed in hostile settings surrounded by large groups of men, many in uniform.” Moreover, AIDS-Free World said, the handling of the complaints showed “haphazard” procedures for moving cases along so that they could be investigated by troop-contributing countries, which are responsible for disciplining peacekeepers.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.