Roundup: UN vows accountability in addressing sexual abuse allegations

The United Nations on Friday vowed to promote transparency and accountability in addressing the issue of sexual abuse in the UN system, months after UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) were alleged to conduct sexual abuse against children last year.

The organization has published a report on measures of preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, saying the total number of allegations of such misconduct recorded in 2015 in the UN system was 99, and 69 of them took place in countries where peacekeeping operations are deployed.

At least 22 children were sexually abused by peacekeepers, according to the report.

"I'm ashamed to call myself a peacekeeper on some of these days when I see cases like these," Atul Khare, UN under-secretary-general for field support, told reporters here on Friday.

"Anyone serving under the UN flag and preying on the vulnerable is truly an abomination," he said.

Previous UN reports have found that sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers is very much under-reported, investigations take excessively long and assistance to victims is rare.

Therefore, one of the measures proposed by the latest report says that the UN missions need to enhance community-based complaint reception mechanism to encourage more cases being reported.

The measures include sending immediate response teams to collect evidence once a complaint is received, and the investigation should be completed within six months. The timeframe would be shortened to three months when the circumstances suggest the need for greater urgency.

The UN also plans to set up online database which will contain details about the nature of the allegations, the number of victims, and the number of perpetrators of each allegation in a bid to enhance transparency.

According to the report, last year, 22 allegations have been received from UN mission in CAR, 16 are from UN mission in Congo and also 26 others from missions in Haiti, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

The peacekeepers who have been accused of sex abuse and exploitation have been identified as coming from Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon, Congo, Tanzania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Canada, Germany and so on.

However, none of those allegations have resulted in criminal prosecution.

Khare said the UN has no authority to prosecute the perpetrators since those peacekeepers are under the legal jurisdiction of their own countries. And this remains one of the biggest barriers in dealing with the problem within the system.

On this matter, reports said that a proposed Security Council resolution drafted by the United States will give pressure on the UN to take tougher measures on peacekeepers involved in allegations and ensure they will be under investigations and prosecutions. Enditem