|
GENDER
AND PEACEKEEPING NEWS
Index |
Peacekeeping Watch | News
| Resources
| Links
UNIFEM
WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: GENDER AND PEACEKEEPING ISSUE BRIEF
2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
2005 | 2004 | 2003
| 2002 | 2001 | 2000
| Pre-2000
2008
Uganda:
Soldier facing trial over Somali lover
August 25, 2008 (New Vision) - A UPDF officer who allegedly fathered
a son with a Somali woman is facing trial, the army said yesterday.
Joshua Asiza, a Warrant Officer II, is said to have met Nino Omar
Ibrahim, 23, while on peace-keeping duty in Somalia. “His
acts were detrimental to the UPDF rules, standing orders, operations
and proceedings of the peace-keeping force. We warned them before
they were deployed,” said a UNDP spokesman.
Liberia:
Latest UNMIL Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) report shows a
decline in reported allegations, as UN Envoy urges zero tolerance
to SEA
August 20, 2008 (African Press Organization) — A new Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) report from the UN Mission in Liberia
(UNMIL) covering the period January to June 2008 says only five
(5) allegations of SEA were reported during the period. These allegations
involving UNMIL personnel are four less than the nine (9) reported
in the period from July-December 2007.
Rwanda
Defence Force Officially Launches Gender Desk
August 13, 2008 (UNIFEM) - Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Chief of General
Staff, General James Kabarebe, signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO
to Violence against Women campaign as he officially launched the
Gender Desk within the Ministry of Defence on 11 August 2008. “The
Rwanda Defence Force shall not spare any effort in as far as fighting
gender-based violence and violence against women is concerned,”
said General Kabarebe.
DR
Congo: Probe ordered into sexual abuse charge against Indian troops
August 13, 2008 (Hindustan Times) – With Indian peacekeepers
in Congo facing allegations of sexual exploitation and child abuse,
Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday ordered a thorough investigation
into the charges. Antony's direction to the army came in the wake
of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanding severe "disciplinary
action" against the Indian troops charged by a UN probe of
sexually exploiting local women and children in Congo.
Top
UN official in DR Congo in push to improve peacekeeper conduct
August 6, 2008 (ReliefWeb) – The top United Nations official
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today pledged to intensify
his efforts to ensure that peacekeepers operating in the African
country observe the UN Code of Conduct. Alan Doss, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative in the DRC and the head of the peacekeeping
mission known as MONUC, said he is seeking the advice of an soon-to-be
established independent, high-level panel of experts on how MONUC
can further strengthen its efforts to prevent misconduct by its
personnel.
Report
finds peacekeepers lacking support to protect civilians in Darfur
July 30, 2008 - (China View) The failure of world leaders to keep
their promises on peacekeeping has condemned many Darfurians to
suffering without protection from violence, a newly released report
by the Darfur Consortium said on Wednesday. The report, "Putting
People First: The Protection Challenge Facing UNAMID in Darfur",
reviews the performance of the Darfur peacekeeping force (UNAMID)
in the six months since it was deployed. Although UNAMID does not
have the capacity to respond to large-scale fighting, it could do
more to protect people from the day-to-day violence that scars their
lives -- such as preventing attacks on women as they collect firewood.
To read the report, please click
here
Sierra
Leone: UN Trains Salone Police On Gender Mainstreaming, Prevention
of Sexual Exploitation
July 29, 2008 (Concord Times) – The conduct and discipline
office, the gender adviser and the UN police section of the United
Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), have finalised
the policy guidelines and training modules on gender mainstreaming
and the zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and sexual
abuse for the Sierra Leonean Police (SLP). On Monday 28, Tuesday
29 and Wednesday 30 July 2008 UNIOSIL will utilize the training
modules to conduct workshops for the officers and personnel of the
SLP, starting with the senior management.
‘Gender-Blind’
Peacekeeping: Blue Helmets as the Perpetrators of Human Rights Violations
July 10, 2008 – (Turkish Weekly) “In certain villages
bordering conflict zones, young girls have admitted that armed men
come in at night – these girls are used as sex workers –
they are not allowed to protest – they are not allowed to
lock their doors and the whole community tolerates this because
these armed men protect the community – so it is a trade-off.”
This stated observation of the International Committee of the Red
Cross clearly demonstrates how the UN peacekeeping operations fundamentally
lack a gender dimension which would ensure and secure the women’s
human rights in the conflict-torn countries. In cases like Bosnia,
Kosovo, Cambodia, Congo and many others, the acts of sexual abuse
by the UN peacekeepers have been reported causing serious debates
on the contradictory nature of the peacekeeping operations.
United
Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Gender - Training
of Trainers for National Action Plan On UN Resolution 1325
July 4, 2008 – (AllAfrica) With the support of MONUC's Gender
Office, the DRC Gender, Family and Children Ministry from 28 June
to 1 July 2008 trained the heads of the provincial Gender ministries
and civil society activists from all the DRC's 11 provinces on resolution
1325, which relates to the impact of war and conflict on women.
General
Assembly: Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations adopts report,
elects first ever woman chairperson
July 3, 2008 - (United Nations) Concluding its 2008 session this
afternoon, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations adopted
its report and elected U. Joy Ogwu of Nigeria as its Chairperson,
the first woman ever to hold that position. It also bid farewell
to Jean-Marie Guéhenno, outgoing Under Secretary-General
for Peacekeeping Operations.
African
Union: Forum seeks female peacekeeping troops to protect women in
conflict
June 23, 2008 - (Afriquenligne) African women leaders on Sunday
vowed to press for the deployment of more female peace-keepers to
protect women in conflict and called on the African Union (AU) to
appoint more female peace envoys.
UN
chief seeks women peacekeepers to counter sexual violence
June 21, 2008 – (The Age) UNITED Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon wants more women peacekeepers and police to help counter
"the abominable practice of sexual violence" resulting
from armed conflicts.
DR
Congo: UN mission begins sensitization training for Government troops
June 20, 2008 – (United Nations Press Service) Government
forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are being given
a week-long training course in child protection, human rights, sexual
violence and military justice by the United Nations mission in the
country (MONUC).
SADC:
Police chiefs gather for peacekeeping tips
June 18, 2008 – (Mmegi Online) Senior Police officers from
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are gathering in Gaborone
until tomorrow to share skills on peacekeeping operations in the
region.
Africa:
UN Must Empower Peacekeepers to Stop Rape
June 10, 2008 – (AllAfrica) The United Nations Security Council
should effectively address sexual violence in conflict as a weapon
of war and its destabilizing impact on communities, Human Rights
Watch and the International Women's Tribune Center said today.
Africa:
Peace With Sexual Violence is Still War
June 5, 2008 - (Pambazuka News) It isn't enough to stop the shooting
when the raping continues apace. There can be no satisfaction in
claiming a truce or a peace treaty which is soaked in the carnage
of the women of the land. The United Nations cannot allow the terrible
assault on women to continue, while crouching behind the ambiguity
of mandate.
UN
Investigates New Accusations of Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers in
DRC
May 14, 2008 – (VOA News) The U.N. peacekeeping mission in
the Democratic Republic of Congo says it is investigating new allegations
of sexual abuse made against its workers. A mission spokesman said
Wednesday the accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse are against
peacekeepers stationed in North Kivu province.
Women
in blue helmets
May 11, 2008 – (Guardian Newsblog) During the UN operation
in Somalia, local women who ventured outside the refugee camps to
collect firewood were frequently raped by peacekeepers. In Cambodia,
the prostitute population of Phnom Penh increased from 6,000 to
25,000 while the UN was present. Elsewhere, UN soldiers have been
known to establish their own prostitution rackets. When these problems
have been brought to the notice of the UN leadership, complaints
have often been fobbed off with the excuse that "boys will
be boys".
Rwanda:
Kigali conference calls for more women at all levels of peacekeeping
operations
April 1, 2008 - (UNIFEM) Participants of a high-level conference
organized by UNIFEM and the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) have issued
a declaration calling for programmed increases of the proportion
of women in recruitment and training for peacekeeping operations,
proactive gender training programmes for peacekeepers and their
organizations, integration of mission-specific gender training in
pre-deployment programmes, reaffirmation and strengthening of the
Zero Tolerance Policy for Acts of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse,
and information sharing among peacekeeping contingents and troops
to promote best practices in preventing and responding to sexual
and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Seminar
“Challenges and Opportunities in Peace Operations: The Incorporation
of Women”
March 13, 2008 - (UN-INSTRAW) UN-INSTRAW participated in
the “International Seminar - Challenges and Opportunities
in Peace Operations: The Incorporation of Women”, organized
by the Network for Security and Defence in Latin America (Red de
Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina - RESDAL) and the Training
Institute for the Sustainable Development (Instituto de Enseñanza
para el Desarrollo Sostenible – IEPADES), on March 11th and
12th in Antigua (Guatemala).
Liberia:
UN envoy welcomes new batch of female Indian police officers
February 8, 2008 – United Nations envoy Ellen Margrethe
Løj has welcomed a new group of female Indian police officers
to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia, highlighting
the impact of their presence on the women of the West African nation
which is seeking to rebuild after a devastating 14-year civil war.
Haiti:
UN organizes workshop for police to address problem of sexual violence
January 25, 2008 –(UN News) United Nations police have
trained their Haitian counterparts serving in Jacmel on dealing
with sexual crimes as part of a broader campaign to tackle the problem.
press
conference by headquarters, field mission gender advisers
January 18, 2008 - (UN Press Release) The establishment of
gender units in all United Nations peace missions had been an important
outgrowth of the Security Council’s adoption of its landmark
resolution 1325 (2000), which emphasizes increased participation
by women at all levels of decision-making in formal peace processes,
Comfort Lamptey, Gender Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations said today.
Gender
issues in UN peacekeeping focus of New York gathering
January 16, 2008 – (UN News Centre) Gender advisers
and focal points from all United Nations peacekeeping missions are
meeting at the world body’s Headquarters in New York on issues
related to the specific needs of men and women in post-conflict
situations.
UNMIL
sex abuse declines
January 4, 2008 - (afrol News) - There has been a sharp
decline in the number of allegations of sexual exploitation and
abuse against the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) staff
in the last half of last year, a report revealed.
2007
DR
Congo: UN inquiry opens into sexual abuse allegations against peacekeeper
November 17, 2007 –(MONUC) The United Nations peacekeeping
mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced
today that an independent investigation has begun into allegations
of violent sexual abuse by a soldier serving with the force in the
troubled northeast of the country.
U.N.
soldiers dismissed over sex abuse claims: Sri Lankan peacekeepers
in Haiti sent home for allegedly paying prostitutes
November 2, 2007 - (MSNBC) Sri Lanka is sending home 108
of its soldiers in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti after
a preliminary investigation found that they paid for prostitutes,
including some that might be underage.
Senior
UN official in Haiti urges action to prevent sexual abuse
October 10, 2007 - (UN News) A senior official serving with
the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has
called for action to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by UN
personnel.
U.N.
warns Moroccans on sex abuse
July 23, 2007 - (AP) The United Nations is investigating
Moroccan peacekeepers suspected of sexually abusing girls under
age 18 in Ivory Coast and possibly leaving some of them pregnant,
a U.N. spokeswoman said Sunday.
Recommendations
on Peacekeeping operations approved by fourth committee, Including
proposed ‘United Nations standards of conduct’
July 17 2007 - (UNDPI) The Fourth Committee (Special Political and
Decolonization) this morning approved the proposals and recommendations
of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations contained in
its annual report, and recommended that United Nations standards
of conduct be included in the revised draft model memorandum of
understanding between the United Nations and troop contributing
countries.
U.N.
urged to hire more women
1 June 2007 – (The Washington Times) Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice and 19 other female ministers, diplomats and lawmakers from
around the world called on the United Nations yesterday to appoint
more women in high-level positions, including as special envoys
to trouble spots.
Congo-Kinshasa:
First Training for Female Journalists in Maniema
30 March 2007 - (MONUC) On March 23 and 24 2007, the MONUC Maniema
Public Information Section, in collaboration with the community
radio GUNDA FM, organized a training seminar in the room of the
ICG in Kindu for female journalists in the province. The audio visual
press initiative, which is the first of its kind, involved over
20 female journalists from Kindu, Kalima and Kasongo.
All-female
unit keeps peace in Liberia
21 March 2007 - (The Christian Science Monitor) Behind rows
of razor wire, a machine gun peeking over the sandbags is trained
on the road below. This is just one of many fortified compounds
in the Congo Town suburb of Liberia's war-ravaged capital, Monrovia.
But this compound is different, because everyone inside –
from the armed guards to the cooks responsible for the inviting
scent of curry that wafts around at lunchtime – is female.
UN
Police workshop in Italy is latest effort to attract more female
officers into the force
17 March 2007 – (UN News Centre) Continuing its
efforts to attract more female officers into United Nations policing,
the division is organizing a 4-day conference at the UN Training
Centre in Italy next week, because despite increases in the number
of women in operations worldwide, there are still too few, warns
the world body's top police officer.
U.N.
Asks for More Women Peacekeepers
Mar 16 2007 -(IPS) When the United Nations commemorated International
Women's Day last week, its Department of Peacekeeping Operations
(DPKO) aired a longstanding complaint: a woeful shortage of women
military personnel in U.N. missions overseas.
Give
women a chance at peace
March 15, 2007 – (The Des Moines Register) Looking at the
state of the world today, one cannot help but wonder why we are
in a war against terror, a war in Iraq and a war in Afghanistan
and faced with the possibility of a nuclear Iran and North Korea.
Maybe it's time to give someone else a chance at the helm. I'm not
talking about new leadership in Washington, but rather giving the
"other gender" a chance — and a role — at
making the world a better place.
WOMEN
PEACEKEEEPERS CAN WORK WITH FEMALE VICTIMS, SET EXAMPLE FOR MALE
COLLEAGUES
12 March 2007 - (VOA) Just one month ago the United Nations deployed
its first all-women peacekeeping unit, a group of trained policewomen
from India now serving in Liberia. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent
Barbara Schoetzau reports this team is a sign of the continuing
evolution of women in peacekeeping missions.
UNMIL
Releases 2006 Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Report
09 March, 2007 - (UNMIL) The UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL,
has released its SexualExploitation and Abuse (SEA) report for 2006,
showing a decrease in the number of allegations reported during
the year
Renewal
of Liberia's UN Peace Keeping Mandate Crucial to Women, Says new
Study
07 March, 2007 - (ActionAid USA) The renewal of the UN Security
Council mandate to maintain a peacekeeping force in Liberia comes
at a crucial time, if women in the country are to be protected from
violence, according to a new report by ActionAid. Currently, rape
is the most reported serious crime in the country.
U.N.
envoy says peacekeepers need equality lesson
09 Febuary 2007 - (Reuters) The outgoing U.N. Ivory Coast
envoy said on Friday the world body should use an "enforcer"
to teach peacekeepers how to treat women, while combating a lack
of urgency and awareness among its staff.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Stresses Women's Leadership and Security
during First Visit to Africa
5 February 2007 - (UNIFEM) The incoming United Nations
Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon concluded his first visit to Africa
with a strong message on promotion of women’s leadership and
zero tolerance for sexual violence and exploitation.
Liberia
gets all-female peacekeeping force
31 January 2007 - (BBC News) A unit of United Nations peacekeepers
with a difference has arrived for work in Liberia - they are all
women. More than 100 female peacekeepers from India are there to
work as an armed police unit to help stabilise Liberia which, after
years of war, is trying to rebuild its own police force from scratch.
UN’s
Liberia mission calls for immediate investigation into possible
sexual abuse
19 January 2007 – (UN News Centre) The United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has called for an immediate internal
investigation after receiving information about possible sexual
exploitation by some of its staff, a UN spokesperson said today.
2006
UN
hosts meeting aimed at tackling problems of sexual abuse by field
personnel
December 4, 2006 – (UN News Centre) DNA samples, new
international pacts and assistance to victims were among the measures
discussed today at a conference on preventing sexual exploitation
and abuse by United Nations and non-governmental organization (NGO)
personnel, where Secretary-General Kofi Annan set a strict tone
by declaring that no one should be above the law.
Fears
over Haiti child 'abuse'
30 November 2006 (BBC News)- A BBC investigation commissioned as
part of Generation Next - a week of programmes focusing on people
under 18 - has uncovered fresh allegations of the sexual abuse of
children by United Nations peacekeepers. Mike Williams reports from
Port au Prince, Haiti.
Women
Want More Leadership Roles in UN Peacekeeping Missions
31 October 2006 (Voice of America) Today (October 31st) is
the sixth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on
Women Peace and Security. Adopted in 2000, the resolution deals
with the role of women in peacekeeping and peace building. One of
the largest UN peacekeeping operations to date is in Africa. Uganda-born
Rachel Mayanja is the special advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan on gender issues and advancement of women. She tells VOA English
to Africa reporter James Butty that women are underrepresented at
all levels of UN peace support operations.
Annan
further enhances ‘zero tolerance’ of sexual abuse by
UN peacekeepers
13 October 2006 (UN News) – Reinforcing further his “zero
tolerance” policy for sexual exploitation and abuse by United
Nations peacekeeping forces, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed
a second group of legal experts to ensure that the rules are binding
on contingent members and applicable to all categories of peacekeeping
personnel.
Indian
women to keep Liberia peace
September 8 2006 (BBC News) - Under
a blazing midday sun, more than a hundred Indian women are being
put through their paces in a special training facility north of
the capital, Delhi.Smartly attired in brilliant blue battle fatigues,
this is an all-female police unit that is shortly to be deployed
alongside UN peacekeepers in Liberia.
UN
probes child prostitute ring
17 August 2006 (BBC News) - The United
Nations is investigating allegations that some of its peacekeepers
in the Democratic Republic of Congo have used child prostitutes.
UN's
legacy of shame in Timor
July 22, 2006 (The Age) United Nations
peacekeepers have abandoned at least 20 babies fathered with poverty-stricken
Timorese women.A UN investigation has also uncovered a culture of
cover-up, in which babies born to peacekeepers and sex crimes committed
by UN staff in the past seven years have been kept secret because
of a "fear of shame and embarrassment' in the deeply religious
country.
AU
in Darfur lacks women, rape training - Amnesty
July 18, 2006 (Reuters) — Darfur peacekeepers should include
more women and should be trained in women’s rights to help
reduce widespread rape and sexual slavery, rights group Amnesty
International said on Tuesday.
New strategy
aims to help victims of sexual exploitation committed by UN staff
13 July 2006 –(UN News) As part of further efforts by the
United Nations to enforce its “zero tolerance” policy
for sexual exploitation and abuse, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
has put forward a draft strategy on assistance and support to victims
of such behaviour by UN staff and related personnel, including recommendations
for medical care and child maintenance.
Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse: An update from UNMIL
June 7, 2006 - (UNMIL Press Release) The United Nations
and UNMIL are committed to preventing and sanctioning misconduct,
in particular, the abhorrent practice of sexual exploitation and
abuse (SEA). The UN policy is clear - zero tolerance to sexual exploitation
and abuse.
Women
on top in peace force
June 7, 2006 (Hindustan Times) There's just
a handful of them but the Army's women peacekeeping troops stationed
in some of the most dangerous conflict zones around the globe are
doing a truly remarkable job.
Liberia
sex-for-aid 'widespread'
May 8, 2006 - (BBC News) Young girls in Liberia are still being
sexually exploited by aid workers and peacekeepers despite pledges
to stamp out such abuse, Save the Children says. Girls as young
as eight are being forced to have sex in exchange for food by workers
for local and international agencies, according to its report.
Peacekeeping
officials gain training at UN institute for women’s advancement
5 May, 2006 - (UN News) Peacekeeping officials dealing with communications
and information technology in a number of hotspots across the globe
today completed a five-day meeting at the United Nations International
Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women where
gender concerns were addressed as part of overall planning.
Poll
finds nearly 94 per cent of Liberians feel safer with UN peacekeeping
April 19, 2006 –(UN News Service) An
overwhelming 94 per cent of Liberians said that the United Nations
Mission in Liberia ( UNMIL ) made them more secure in the aftermath
of a bloody, decade-long civil war, and they gave high marks to
the operation for its quick-impact projects and information outreach,
according to a poll made public today.
AU
inaugurates inquiry panel on allegations of sexual abuse in Darfur
April 16, 2006 - (Sudan Tribune) The African
Union envoy to Sudan inaugurated the members of the investigation
panel over the allegations of sexual abuses against the AU peacekeeping
force in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.
DR CONGO:
UN WELCOMES LIFE SENTENCES ON SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF MASSIVE RAPE
13 April, 2006 -(UN NEWS) Welcoming the first sentencing
of army soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for crimes
against humanity stemming from massive rape, United Nations officials
have called for further investigations to help prosecute other military
personnel who may be implicated.
UN
praises India's women police unit initiative
30 March 2006 - (Hindustan Times) The United Nations has appreciated
India's decision to provide a 125-member all female police unit
for peacekeeping. The world body has sought more women officers
for its missions to increase the "efficiency and credibility"
of operations.
More
women needed in global peacekeeping operations: UN-backed conference
March 29, 2006 – (UN News) Describing the current low numbers
of women in United Nations peacekeeping operations as “disheartening,”
a United Nations-backed conference called today for their number
to be doubled every year for the next few years, saying this would
not only improve the efficiency of peacekeeping but also its credibility.
Top
UN peacekeeping official calls for professional ‘core’
for field operations
27 February 2006 (UN News) – The
head of United Nations peacekeeping operations today called for
the creation of a “core” of 2,500 career civilian professionals
who would provide an institutional cornerstone for more effective
management of UN field operations.
Progress
made against sexual exploitation but more to do: UN peacekeeping
head
USG Guéhenno
23 February 2006 - (UN News) “Significant progress”
has been made in dealing with incidences of sexual exploitation
and abuse committed by United Nations peacekeepers, but much more
needs to be done, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping said
today, calling for more support from Member States.
DRC:
UN investigations into allegations of sexual offences by peacekeeperS
January 26 2006 (IRIN) - In February
2005, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC,
created an office to address allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation
by some of MONUC's civilian and military personnel. It was the first
such UN office to have been set-up as part of a peacekeeping mission.
India's
first women's peacekeeping force for Liberia
January 22 2006 - (NewIndpress) For the first time, a company of
120 Indian women would be deputed to Liberia, west Africa, for a
peace-keeping mission following a UN request to the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF).
NEW
REPORT CALLING FOR MORE COOPERATION ON PEACEKEEPING ECHOES UN’S
THINKING – ANNAN
January 19 2006 (UN News) Welcoming a new multinational report on
peacekeeping operations, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
today said its recommendations for more cooperation and coordination
by Member States mirror the world body’s own efforts to strengthen
its security capacity.
UN
PEACEKEEPING REAPS 'RETURN ON INVESTMENT' AS POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES
CONTRIBUTE POLICE
January 14, 2005 (UN News) United Nations peacekeeping operations
are reaping a "return on their investment" as countries
which in the past hosted them are now in turn contributing police
to other missions, officials with the world body said today.
2005
Q&A:
African peacekeeping operations
December 7, 2005 - (New York Times)
Some of the most challenging conflicts in the world at the moment
are in Africa: the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and less-than-transparent
governments and ongoing uncertainty in Sierra Leone, Angola, and
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are just some examples.
In many cases, the developed world watches these conflicts develop;
in the worst cases, as in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, it does nothing
to intervene. When it does intervene--most often in the form of
a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission--the results have been
mixed, experts say.
Unmil
Probes Soldier for Rape
November 30, 2005 (The Inquirer) The United Nations Mission in Liberia
(UNMIL) has launched an investigation into a rape case involving
one of its soldiers. According to an UNMIL release, on 26 November,
a member of the mission's military contingents was accused of committing
rape.
UNMIL
Officer Rapes Two Children
November 29, 2005 (AllAfrica.com) The
crime of Rape has become endemic in the Liberian society to the
extent that nearly everyday a female child falls prey to the nefarious
desire of certain unscrupulous men who have the tendency of satisfying
their sexual desire to the detriment of children including babies
in some instances.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
NAMES TEAM OF EXPERTS TO STUDY BEST WAYS TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY
OF UN PEACEKEEPERS
October 24, 2005 -(UN Press Release) United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has appointed a group of legal experts to conduct a study
on the best ways to ensure that United Nations staff members and
experts on mission who serve in peacekeeping operations and who
commit crimes during their peacekeeping assignments can be held
criminally accountable in a manner consistent with due process of
law.
UN
peacekeeping chief urges States to police their troops against sex
abuse
October 21, 2005- (UN News Service): Pledging further action to
root out sexual abuse by peacekeepers, a senior United Nations official
has urged countries contributing troops to the world body's operations
to do their part to end the scourge.
Report
Finds U.N. Isn't Moving to End Sex Abuse by PeacekeeperS
October 18, 2005 (New York Times) - The United Nations has developed
procedures to curb sexual abuse by peacekeepers, but the measures
are not being put into force because of a deep-seated culture of
tolerating sexual exploitation, an independent review reported Tuesday.
Nigeria recalls UN peacekeepers
September 19, 2005 (ISN Security Watch) - The Nigerian government
on Monday said it would punish any police officers serving in the
UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo
who are found guilty of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Sierra Leone: UNAMSIL's DSRSG underscores United Nations Security
Council's resolution 1325 on women, peace and security
August 24, 2005 - (UNAMSIL) The Deputy Special
Representative of the Secretary General (DSRSG) and UNDP Resident
Representative for Sierra Leone, Mr. Victor Angelo, has disclosed
that there are serious gender disparities in Sierra Leone which
are capable of frustrating any attempt at sustainable development
if not adequately addressed.
UN
establishes disciplinary units to eliminate sexual abuse by peacekeepers
4 August 2005 – (UN News Center) Upgrading the drive
to eliminate sexual abuse by peacekeepers following reports over
the past year and a half of peacekeepers exploiting vulnerable women
and girls in their area of deployment, eight United Nations missions
have been ordered to immediately establish disciplinary units staffed
by senior-level experts on personnel conduct.
NEPAL: PEACEKEEPERS SENTENCED
TO PRISON
July 23, 2005 - (NYT World Briefing) The Royal Nepal Army said a
military court had sentenced six soldiers to three months in prison
for sex abuses committed a few months ago while deployed as United
Nations peacekeepers in Congo, the New China News Agency reported.
Three of the soldiers were also demoted, said Brig. Gen. Deepak
Gurung, an army spokesman.
UN
sex abuse sackings in Burundi
July 19, 2005 – (BBC) Two United Nations peacekeepers in Burundi
have been sacked after having sex with prostitutes and minors. UN
spokesman Penangnini Toure said the two soldiers had been found
guilty of breaking a strict code of conduct which forbids sex with
prostitutes.
UN
Tackles Sex Abuse by Troops
June 21, 2005 - (The Christian Science Monitor) Since accusations
of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in Congo arose a year ago, the United
Nations has taken vigorous measures to address a problem that has
dogged it for years.
FRÉCHETTE
TO VISIT KOSOVO AS PART OF TOUR TO ELIMINATE SEXUAL ABUSE IN PEACEKEEPING
June 3, 2005 - (UN News) United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
Louise Fréchette will be travelling to Kosovo, resuming her
visits to peacekeeping missions to reinforce Secretary-General Kofi
Annan’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse
for United Nations personnel.
SECURITY
COUNCIL CONDEMNS ‘IN THE STRONGEST TERMS’ ALL ACTS OF
SEXUAL ABUSE, EXPLOITATION BY UN PEACEKEEPING PERSONNEL
May 31, 2005 - (Security Council Press Release, SC/8400) While confirming
that the conduct and discipline of troops was primarily the responsibility
of troop-contributing countries, the Security Councilrecognized
this afternoon the shared responsibility of the Secretary-General
and allMember States to take every measure within their purview
to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by all categories of peacekeeping
personnel, and to enforce United Nations standards of conduct in
that regard.
Security
Council Condemns Sexual Abuses by UN Peacekeeping Personnel
May 31, 2005 – (UN News) The Security Council today strongly
condemned all acts of sexual abuse and exploitation committed by
UN peacekeeping personnel, underlining the importance of maintaining
zero tolerance for such abuses and advocating their investigation
and punishment.
French
Peacekeeping Force Opens Inquiry into Sex Abuse Claims
May 20. 2005 - (IRIN) The French peacekeeping force in Cote d'Ivoire
has opened an inquiry into allegations that four of its soldiers
sexually abused a young girl in the rebel-held north of the divided
country.
Additional
Staff Needed to Stop Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping
– UN Report
May 10, 2005 - (UN News) With a United Nations General Assembly
committee having approved a strategy to eliminate future sexual
exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan is requesting funding to hire the extra employees necessary
to ensure compliance with tightened regulations for conduct.
GLOBAL:
UN REFORMS AIM TO END SEXUAL ABUSE BY PEACEKEEPERS
May 10, 2005 - (IRIN) When Roxanna Carrillo came to work at the
new United Nations peacekeeping mission in Burundi in September
2004, she knew she needed to clarify the standards of behaviour
expected of personnel.
Complaints
of Sexual Infractions at UN Last Year Doubled from 2003
May 5, 2005 - (UN News) The number of allegations of sexual abuse
and exploitation made by and about United Nations personnel in 2004
was more than double the number reported in 2003, a development
that is deeply distressing, even though contributing factors include
clearer reporting procedures and new response measures, United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report to the General Assembly.
LIBERIA:
UNMIL Investigating Alleged Sexual Misconduct by Peacekeepers in
Four Incidents
May 3. 2005 - (IRIN) Allegations of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers
serving in Liberia have been substantiated in four incidents and
investigations launched, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
told IRIN on Tuesday.
U.N.
Confirms Sex Abuse by Peacekeepers in Liberia
April 29, 2005 - (Reuters) The United
Nations is pressing ahead with a crackdown on sexual misconduct
by peacekeepers in Liberia after finding that some allegations leveled
so far were true, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.
UN
Probes Allegations of Sexual Exploitation by Peacekeepers in Liberia
April 29, 2005 – (UN News) The United Nations peacekeeping
mission in Liberia has been investigating allegations of sexual
exploitation and abuse by its personnel and has sought cooperation
from the troop contributing countries, a UN spokesman said today.
UN
Welcomes Newspaper Apology for Accusations of Sexual Exploitation
Against Staffer
April 28, 2005 - (UN News) The United Nations today welcomed an
apology issued by a British newspaper which had made unsubstantiated
accusations of sexual exploitation against a senior UN staff member
serving in the peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC).
LIBERIA:
Daddy wore a blue helmet
April 21, 2005 - (The Economist) THE UNECO children's centre looks
like any other Liberian school. Its pupils wear smartish uniforms
and are eager, after 14 years of civil war and not much schooling,
to learn. What is unusual is that every child at UNECO has been
fathered by a foreign peacekeeper and then abandoned. The centre
was founded by Dr Abraham Cole, a local teacher, "to show our
gratitude to peacekeepers by taking care of their children."
U.N.
Investigates Alleged Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers in Eritrea
April 14, 2005 -(Deutsche Presse Agentur) The U.N. Mission monitoring
the disputed border between Ethiopia and Eritrea disclosed Thursday
that it has set up a committee to investigate allegations of sexual
abuse which Eritrean women have made against Mission peacekeepers
and civilian staff.
UN
Mission Probes Possible Breaches of Zero-Tolerance Policy on Sexual
Exploitation
April 12, 2005 - (UN News) The United Nations mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) is investigating two weekend incidents
for possible breaches of its zero-tolerance policies on sexual exploitation
and abuse, a UN spokesman said today.
Zero-Tolerance
Policy Regarding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: MONUC More Vigilant
Than Ever [French
version]
April 11, 2005 - (MONUC Press Release) MONUC was informed, this
past weekend, of an incident in which the police in Kinshasa arrested
two international civilian employees of U.N. Mission, one of them
a United Nations volunteer (UNV).
Report
on Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers Under Review
April 5, 2005 - (IRIN) A UN special committee began on Monday its
review of a report on sexual misconduct by UN peacekeeping personnel,
according to a statement issued in New York by the General Assembly.
Peacekeeping
Troop Contributors Must Recognize Discipline Problems, UN Adviser
Says
April 5, 2005 – (UN News) Countries that send troops to United
Nations peacekeeping missions must recognize the seriousness of
sexual exploitation and abuse taking place in such operations and
see that every effort was made to prevent such appalling conduct
from happening again, according to a special adviser to Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
SPECIAL
COMMITTEE ON PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS BEGINS REVIEW OF REPORT ON
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
April 4, 2005 - (UN Press Release, GA/PK/186) Meeting today in a
reconvened 2005 session to consider the United Nations first-ever
comprehensive report on the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse
by United Nations peacekeeping personnel, the Special Committee
on Peacekeeping embarked on a tight timetable for reviewing the
report and submitting its findings to the Fifth Committee (Administrative
and Budgetary) before the end of May to enable appropriate action
by the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session.
"No
Go" Zones to Prevent Sex Abuse by U.N. Peacekeepers
April 4, 2005 - (IPS) As charges mount of sexual abuse and child
molestation by U.N. peacekeepers, the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) has drawn up a list of "no go" zones
barring visits by blue-helmeted soldiers and civilian staff.
In
Congo, Peace Eludes Its U.N. Keepers
March 28, 2005 - (Washington Post Foreign
Service) Early one morning last month,
Capt. Shebih Hassan, a U.N. peacekeeper from Pakistan, spotted crowds
of terrified women and children gathering at the foot of grassy
hills near his battalion's camp.
Refugees
International Welcomes Far-Reaching UN Report on Eliminating Sexual
Exploitation in Peacekeeping Operations
March 25, 2005 - (Refugees International) Faced with repeated problems
of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers,
the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued an honest and far-reaching
report, “A comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual
exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations.”
The report, written by His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad
Zeid Al-Hussein, Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, makes numerous important and bold recommendations,
notably that troop-contributing countries hold on-site court martials
for guilty parties and adopt formal memoranda of understanding in
advance of deployment to forward the cases of sexual exploitation
and abuse to their competent national or military authorities.
Report
Calls for Punishing Peacekeepers in Sex Abuse
March 25, 2005 - (NYT) A report on sexual abuse by peacekeepers
recommended Thursday that offending soldiers and their commanders
be punished by their home countries, that payments made to them
be recovered and put into a fund for victims and that the United
Nations make
compliance with these measures a condition for taking part in its
missions.
Jordanian
Prince Urges Major Overhaul of UN Peacekeeping
March 24, 2005 - (Reuters) Peacekeepers need to be punished for
any sexual abuse, their pay docked and a fund set up to assist any
women and girls they impregnated, a new U.N. report said on Thursday.
UN
Report Offers Rape Prevention Ideas
March 24, 2005 - (The Associated Press) A new United Nations report
on sex abuse by peacekeepers describes the U.N. military arm as
dysfunctional and recommends requiring nations to pursue legal action
against perpetrators, according to the report's author.
UN
Secretariat and Assembly Must Approve New Rules for UN Peacekeepers
– Report
March 24, 2005 – (UN News) A new report requested by United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on sexual exploitation occurring
in peacekeeping missions recommends the UN standardize rules so
that all personnel are held equally accountable and that laws in
troop-contributor countries and individual responsibility for victims,
including "peacekeeper babies," be strengthened.
Congo's
Desperate 'One-Dollar U.N. Girls'
March 21, 2005 - (Washington Post Foreign Service) She's known in
the community as a "one-dollar U.N. girl." At night, she
sleeps on the cracked pavement outside a storefront. In the mornings,
she sashays through the dusty streets, clutching a frayed parasol
against the blinding sun.
UN
Turns on the Heat in Congo Abuse Probe
March 18, 2005 - (Reuters) The United Nations fired one employee
and suspended six without pay among 17 civilian staff being investigated
on allegations of sexual abuse in the Congo, a UN spokesperson said
on Thursday.
UN
Mission in DR of Congo Suspends or Expels Civilians in Sexual Abuse
Cases, Clears Three
March 17, 2005 – (UN News) Seventeen civilians in the United
Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) have been investigated on allegations of sexual exploitation,
of which three cases have been closed for lack of evidence and one
is still being reviewed, a UN spokesman said today.
Chiefs
of UN Peacekeeping Missions Meet this Week at Annual New York Retreat
March 17, 2005 – (UN News) The heads of the 18 United Nations
peacekeeping missions will hold their annual meeting, starting tomorrow,
to exchange experiences and opinions on integrating former combatants
into communities and on their own management and accountability.
UN
Has No Say in DRC Sex Case
March 16, 2005 - (SA) The United Nations had no
power to punish a South African battalion commander allegedly involved
in sexual misconduct in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN spokesperson
said on Wednesday.
United
Nations Confronts Sex Abuse Claims
March 16, 2005 - (AP) As the United Nations
confronts allegations of sex abuse on peacekeeping missions worldwide,
officials said punishing soldiers may be easier than punishing civilians
working for the world body.
U.N.
Faces More Accusations of Sexual Misconduct
March 13, 2005 - (Washington Post) The United Nations is facing
new allegations of sexual misconduct by U.N. personnel in Burundi,
Haiti, Liberia and elsewhere, which is complicating the organization's
efforts to contain a sexual abuse scandal that has tarnished its
Nobel Prize-winning peacekeepers in Congo.
UN
Conducts Inquiry into Alleged Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers in Burundi
March 11, 2005 – (UN News) The United Nations, pursuing its
zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping
operations and mission personnel around the world, announced today
that it was conducting an inquiry into alleged sexual abuse of minors
by troops in Burundi.
Fréchette
Heading to Kosovo to Continue Emphasis Against Sex Abuse by UN Peacekeepers
March 7, 2005 - (UN News) Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette
will head to Kosovo later this week to continue her tour of United
Nations
peacekeeping operations around the world to emphasize the world
body's zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse.
DEPUTY-SECRETARY
GENERAL ON COMPLETION OF MISSION TO SIERRA LEONE SAYS UN TO REFORM
ITS APPROACH TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE ISSUES
March 4, 2005 - (UNAMSIL Press Release)
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette,
on Thursday afternoon, completed her mission to Sierra Leone meeting
with representatives of international non-governmental organizations,
with press representatives, and hosting a town hall forum with members
of staff of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
UN
Peacekeepers Increase Patrols in Tense Areas of Côte d'Ivoire;
Fréchette Arrives
March 4, 2005 - (UN News) United Nations peacekeepers have increased
their patrols in areas of Côte d'Ivoire where clashes still
occur and tension still reigns, a UN spokesman said today.
New
Standards for UN Troops?
March 4, 2005 - (Christian Science Monitor) Faced with a double-barreled
crisis over its inability to forge even a semblance of peace in
the African jungles of Congo or prevent its soldiers from sexually
abusing civilians there, the United Nations' biggest global peacekeeping
operation is undergoing a dramatic makeover. The changes may set
important precedents, experts say, for UN peacekeeping efforts worldwide.
Liberia:
UN Personnel Risk Dismissal
March 3, 2005 - (The Analyst - Monrovia)
Personnel serving with the United Nation Mission In Liberia
and other agencies of the world body may lose their respective jobs
if found in practices unacceptable to the principles and norms of
the UN system.
UN
to Tackle Claims of Congo Sex Abuse
March 2, 2005 - (The Independent) The United Nations is to investigate
claims of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers after conceding that
recent cases involving its soldiers in the Democratic Republic of
Congo may not be isolated to that country and similar abuses have
probably happened elsewhere.
Fréchette
Heads to Sierra Leone After Wrapping up Visit to UN Mission in Liberia
March 2, 2005 – (UN News) Deputy Secretary-General Louise
Fréchette headed to Sierra Leone today after wrapping up
her trip to Liberia for the second leg of visits to United Nations
peacekeeping operations in West Africa to emphasize the world body's
zero tolerance policy for sexual exploitation and abuse by UN troops.
Visiting
UN mission in Liberia, Fréchette Stresses Zero-Tolerance
Policy for Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers
March 1, 2005 – (UN News) Deputy Secretary-General Louise
Fréchette today spent a second day at the United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) as part of an ongoing effort to emphasize
the world body's zero tolerance policy for sexual exploitation and
abuse by UN peacekeepers.
UN
Congo Envoy May Leave Amid Peacekeeper Scandal
February 28, 2005 - (Reuters) The U.N.
representative in the Congo, American William Lacy Swing, may soon
resign his post following allegations of widespread sexual abuse
by peacekeepers, diplomats said on Monday.
UN
Fears Peacekeepers Commit Sex Abuse Worldwide
February 26, 2005 - (Reuters) U.N. officials fear the sex-abuse
scandal among peacekeepers in Africa is far more widespread and
appears to be a problem in each of the global body's 16 missions
around the world.
UN
Peacekeepers in Haiti Cleared of Rape
February 25, 2005 - (AP) Three Pakistani peacekeepers working as
UN peacekeepers in Haiti have been cleared of allegations that they
raped a woman on a banana plantation, a top UN official said on
Wednesday.
UN
BEGINS FORMAL INQUIRY INTO RAPE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UN POLICE OFFICERS
IN HAITI
February 25, 2005 - (UN News) A board of inquiry into a Haitian
woman's accusation that she was raped last week by two civilian
police officers serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission
in the Caribbean country has begun its work.
UN
PROBING RAPE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST PEACEKEEPERS IN HAITI
February 24, 2005 - (UN News) A preliminary investigation into a
Haitian woman's rape accusations against United Nations peacekeepers
suggests that the encounter involved prostitution, but since the
personal code of conduct for "blue helmets" forbids that
kind of contact, the soldiers will be disciplined, a UN spokesman
said today.
CORRECTED:
UN PEACEKEEPERS ACCUSED OF RAPE IN HAITI
February 23, 2005 - (Reuters) The United Nations is investigating
allegations that three Pakistani policemen raped a woman in Haiti
while deployed on a U.N. stabilization mission, a spokesman said
on Wednesday.
UN
INVESTIGATES RAPE CLAIMS IN HAITI
February 22, 2005 - (AP) The United Nations is investigating a woman's
allegations that she was raped by three U.N. peacekeepers from Pakistan,
a U.N. official said Tuesday. The men claim they paid to have sex.
UN
Welcomes Morocco's Arrest of 6 of its Peacekeepers for Sexual Assault
in DR of Congo
February 14, 2005 - (UN) The United Nations peacekeeping mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has welcomed the Government
of Morocco's decision to arrest six of its soldiers who were accused
of sexual assault on civilians in the African Great Lakes country.
UN
Soldiers Arrested in DR Congo
February 13, 2005 - (BBC) Six Moroccan soldiers serving as UN peacekeepers
in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been arrested over sex
abuse claims, Moroccan officials say.
U.N.
Sex Crimes in Congo: Prostitution, Rapes Run Rampant
February 11, 2005 - (ABC News) Widespread allegations of sexual
exploitation and abuse of Congolese women, boys and girls have been
made against U.N. personnel who were sent to help and protect them
-- despite a so-called zero tolerance policy touted by the United
Nations toward such behavior.
For an accompanying slideshow, comprised
of photos taken during ABC's investigation in DRC, CLICK
HERE.
How the
UN was Forced to Tackle Stain on its Integrity
February 11, 2005 - (The Independent) In March 1998 I was
having dinner with staff from the UN in Sarajevo. The topic of conversation
turned to the increasing number of bars in Bosnia, housing prostitutes
from countries in eastern Europe, mainly Romania and Moldova. Someone
said that in the infamous Arizona Market, near Brcko in north-eastern
Bosnia, young girls from these countries were paraded weekly for
sale and purchased by bar owners who put them to work as sex slaves.
'Shocked'
Annan Backs Zero Tolerance to Stop Sex Abuse by Peacekeepers in
Congo
February 11, 2005 - (The Independent) The UN secretary general,
buffeted by the oil-for-food scandal, has endorsed tough measures
to halt sex abuse at the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
Sex
ban on DR Congo peacekeepers
February 10, 2005 - (BBC) UN peacekeepers in the Democratic
Republic of Congo have been banned from having sex with locals after
claims of widespread abuse of women and girls.
UN
Bans Peacekeepers from Sex with Congolese
February 10, 2005 - (Reuters) U.N.
peacekeepers have been banned from having sex with the local population
in Congo following allegations of widespread abuse of women and
girls, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Annan
Calls for Security Council Support in Fight Against Sexual Exploitation
in Peacekeeping Missions
February 9, 2005 - (UN News) Secretary-General Kofi Annan has written
to the Security Council appealing for more police and French-speaking
investigators to strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as an expanded investigation
into allegations of sexual exploitation and misconduct continues,
a UN spokesperson said today.
DRC:
Sex and the UN: when peacemakers become predators
January 11, 2005 - (The Independent) Nadia is 13, a prostitute in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her clients are UN soldiers. If
she's lucky, they'll give her $1.
DRC:
U.N. Troops Exploited Congo Girls
January 8, 2005 - (AP) - United Nations peacekeepers in Congo sexually
exploited women and girls, some as young as 13, a U.N. watchdog
office said Friday in a new confirmation that efforts to curb abuses
by U.N. troops are not working.
Peacekeepers'
Sexual Abuse of Local Girls Continuing in DR of Congo, UN Finds
January 7, 2005 – (UN News) United Nations peacekeeping
troops have continued the sexual abuse of girls in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN's watchdog office says, but
peacekeeping officials say Member States providing the soldiers
must send sterner commanders and toughen the punishment for perpetrators.
Press
Briefing on OIOS Investigation in Democratic Republic of Congo
January 7, 2005 -(UN) The Office of Internal Oversight Services
(OIOS) investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation and
abuse of local Congolese women and girls has concluded that the
problem was serious and ongoing, Barbara Dixon, Director of OIOS’s
Investigations Division, told correspondents today. Equally
disturbing, she said, was the lack of a protection and deterrence
programme even now. Briefing correspondents on the findings
of the investigation, Ms. Dixon described the investigation as a
difficult process, especially because of the very general nature
of the allegations investigated.
Press
Breifing on Democratic Republic of Congo Report
(excerpts)
January 7, 2005 - (UN) With the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and the United Nations Organization Mission there entering a critical
phase, the only viable solution was to stay the course, the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for that country said at
a Headquarters press briefing today.
Other news stories covering the
OIOS investiations: BBC
| CNN
| Reuters
2004
UN
Suspends Soldiers in Burundi Over Sex Abuse
December 17, 2004 - (afrol News) After several
scandals where UN peacekeepers and aid workers have been involved
in sexual abuse of civilian women, the UN peacekeeping mission in
Burundi has suspended to soldiers accused of "sexual misconduct".
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced a new policy of "zero
tolerance for sexual abuse by UN personnel," following the
scandals.
In
Congo War, Even Peacekeepers Add to Horror
December 18, 2004 - (NYT) In the corner of
the tent where she says a soldier forced himself on her, Helen,
a frail fifth grader with big eyes and skinny legs, remembers seeing
a blue helmet.
U.N.
Sexual Abuse Alleged in Congo
December 16, 2004 - (Washington Post) U.N. peacekeepers threatened
U.N. investigators investigating allegations of sexual misconduct
in Congo and sought to bribe witnesses to change incriminating testimony,
a confidential U.N. draft report says.
UN
probing charges of sex abuse in DR of Congo, peacekeeping official
says
November 23, 2004 – (UN) The United
Nations has dispatched two teams to investigate 150 charges of sexual
exploitation and abuse by civilian and military personnel serving
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a senior
UN official.
UN
DR Congo Sex Abuses 'on Film'
November 23, 2004- (BBC) The United
Nations is investigating some 150 allegations of sexual abuse by
UN civilian staff and soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda:
Women Ex-Combatants Seek Inclusion in Peacekeeping Missions
November 18, 2004 - (IRIN) Old soldiers never die, they just fade
away, as the saying goes. Yet for Capt Apophia Batamuliza, a retired
former Rwandan woman soldier, that is not an option. Batamuliza
was only 24 in 1990, when she joined a group of men to launch a
four-year guerrilla war to oust a regime that had denied them a
right to stay in their home country.
BURUNDI:
UN MISSION SETS UP UNITS TO CHECK SEXUAL ABUSE
November 15, 2004 - (IRIN) Following
reports of sexual exploitation of host populations in several peacekeeping
missions in Africa, the UN Mission in Burundi, known as ONUB, has
established a Code of Conduct Unit and appointed a gender adviser
to make sure this problem does not arise in Burundi.
Interview
with Carolyn McAskie, head of UN peacekeeping mission in Burundi
November 5, 2004 -(IRIN) ONUB has a code of conduct unit, the first
of any UN peacekeeping mission, to prevent cases of sexual misconduct
by UN staff and troops against the host population. IRIN spoke to
the head of ONUB and special representative of the UN Secretary-General,
Carolyn McAskie, in Bujumbura on 26 October on this unit as well
as on ONUB's strength, deployment, security and progress made so
far.
PROMOTING
GENDER EQUALITY IN PEACEKEEPING IS VITAL TO SUCCESS - UN ADVISER
November 4, 2004 - (UN News) Addressing the concerns of women, tackling
gender-based violence and ensuring full equality are essential for
peacekeeping operations to achieve their goals, the senior United
Nations official dealing with these issues said today.
6 women will be included
in the Fiji contingent to Iraq
October 20, 2004 - (Fiji Sun) 6 service
women will be part of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces officers
who will be deployed to the UN Assistance Mission (UNAMI) in Iraq
later this month; Military spokesman, Capt Neumi Leweni said the
six are to fulfil tasks as female searchers at UN HQ in Baghdad.
They will be part of the Internal Security, Perimeter and the Main
gate platoons but they would also carry out dual roles as female
searchers. Capt Leweni said the six had created history in the RFMF
as being the most number of women to be deployed to any one peacekeeping
duty. All of them have had peacekeeping mission experience in either
East Timor or in the Sinai. Meanwhile 163 personnel had been selected
and would undergo training before they leave fo Iraq at the end
of the month. Fiji has been involved in UN peacekeeping missions
since deployment to Lebanon in 1978.
GENDER
BALANCE IN UN PEACEKEEPING HAS IMPROVED, ANNAN SAYS
October 19, 2004 - (UN) In the four years that have elapsed since
the Security Council voted to improve the ratio of women to men
dealing with peace and security issues, the greatest progress has
been made in United Nations peacekeeping missions, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan says.
Conflict,
Sexual Trafficking, and Peacekeeping
October 8, 2004 - (Refugees International)
Trafficking in persons is a modern-day
form of slavery, involving victims who are typically forced, defrauded
or coerced into sexual or labor exploitation. It is among the fastest
growing criminal activities, occurring worldwide and within individual
countries. Globally, at least 600,000 - 800,000 people, mostly women
and children, are trafficked each year across borders, including
14,500 - 17,500 persons into the United States. Annual profits from
human trafficking have been estimated at five to seven billion dollars.
Our
Bodies - Their Battle Ground: Gender-based Violence in Conflict
Zones
UN peacekeeping - working towards a no-tolerance environment
September 24, 2004 - (UNOCHA: IRIN Web Special on violence against
women and girls during and after conflict) Allegations of sexual
violations perpetrated by some UN peacekeepers in the last two years
have been widely reported by media and human rights groups. As the
UN undertakes an increasing number of peacekeeping missions, the
organisation faces the challenge of how to maintain ethical standards
and codes of behaviour among its disparate troops, a challenge that
the head of the UN mission in Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, told IRIN
she is actively working to address in the Central African country.
Appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Burundi
in June this year, McAskie has a UN force composed of troops from
five member countries. Troops from three of these have been named
in alleged rape and sexual abuse scandals in neighbouring DRC. McAskie
told IRIN that the UN was aware of the allegations and working to
create an environment in which abuse would not be tolerated, a message
that she had relayed in her first meeting with Burundi President
Domitien Ndayizeye. She also had the unequivocal support of the
mission's Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Derrick Mgwebi of
South Africa, she added. In the DRC, some UN soldiers were accused
of sexually abusing minors under the age of 18, trading food for
sex, child rape and organising a child prostitution ring in Bunia,
north eastern DRC.However, the DRC is by no means the first documented
case of sexual violation by UN peacekeepers. Human Rights Watch
reported on several cases of sexual violence by peacekeepers with
the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), including
the rape of a twelve-year-old girl in Bo by a soldier of the Guinean
contingent, as well as the gang rape of a woman by two Ukrainian
soldiers near Kenema.When reports of sexual abuses by some UN personnel
in West Africa emerged in 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
stated a clear policy of zero-tolerance for sexual misconduct by
staff. However, subsequent allegations of exploitation and abuses
by peacekeepers emerged in Kosovo and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC). Index page for IRIN Web Special on violence against
women and girls during and after conflict: CLICK
HERE.
INDIA
TO SEND MORE WOMEN FOR UN PEACE MISSIONS
September 1, 2004 - (IANS) India Wednesday said it planned to increase
the number of women police personnel sent for UN peacekeeping missions
as it reiterated its commitment to such operations worldwide.
RWANDAN
FEMALE EX-COMBATANTS CAN PLAY IMPORTANT ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING
September 1, 2004 - (UNIFEM) Women ex-combatants from Rwanda
have asked for a role in regional peacekeeping missions in Africa.
Pointing specifically to the recent Rwandan government's commitment
to support regional peacekeeping missions by sending soldiers to
help protect African Union cease-fire monitors, they are urging
that ex-combatant women be included in such missions, because of
their experience of warfare and its particular impact on women,
and their interest in assisting women caught in conflict.
GREAT
LAKES: Focus on sexual misconduct by UN personnel
July 23, 2004 (IRIN) - When reports of sexual
abuses by UN personnel in West Africa emerged in 2002, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan stated a clear policy of zero-tolerance of sexual misconduct
by staff. However, allegations of sexual misconduct and gender-based
violence by peacekeepers have since been reported in several operations,
including Kosovo and, more recently, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC).
ARMY
SILENT ON SEX SCANDAL
July 12, 2004 (The Star South Africa) South African
soldiers have been accused of involvement in a massive sex abuse
scandal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are on peace-keeping
duties.
SOUTH
AFRICAN TROOPS 'RAPED KIDS IN DRC'
July 12, 2004 - (Pretoria News) South African and other peacekeeping
troops have allegedly committed a string of rapes and other sexual
offences against children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The
United Nations has sent a special team to the DRC to investigate.
ABUSE
BY UN TROOPS IN DRC MAY GO UNPUNISHED, REPORT SAYS
July 12, 2004 - (UN Wire) The U.N. response to the
sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo has been mired in bureaucracy, with no charges
having been brought against any of the accused, the London
Independent reports today.
PEACEKEEPERS
AND GENDER: DRC AND SIERRA LEONE
July 8, 2004 (Pambazuka News # 164, Editorial) It was late
at night when the woman farmer came out of her house in the village
of Joru in Sierra Leone to go to the lavatory. She saw a large white
truck that had stopped about 50 metres from her home. It was an
unusual sight, so she hid and watched what was going on. Inside
were two white men and a black woman, who was yelling, 'leave me
alone'. 'The door was open and one of them was on top of her', recalled
the farmer,'K', who is in her fifties. 'The lady was really struggling.
I saw that one was holding her down while the other was raping her
I saw both of them have their turn on her. After they had
finished, I saw one of them drag her out of the cabin and put her
in the back of the big truck. They then drove off' (Stuart, 2003).
THE
OFFICE OF GENDER AFFAIRS LAUNCHES ITS RESOURCE CENTRE
July 7, 2004 (UNMIK) The Office of Gender Affairs is pleased
to announce the launch of its resource centre of gender-related
materials, containing over 200 books, pamphlets, DVDs and other
documents. The collection covers topics ranging from the gendered
dimensions of peacekeeping to the gender-implications of development,
and includes an wide array of local and regional materials.
WHAT
IS THE ROLE OF GENDER IN PEACEKEEPING?
June 18, 2004 (AWID) A look at recent resources on the issue
of gender and peacekeeping. One focus is on the recent Commission
on the Status of Women Agreed Conclusions on ''Women's equal participation
in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in
post-conflict peace-building''.
WHEN
PEACEKEEPING TURNS TO DESPAIR
June 14, 2004 - (UN Wire, Barbara Crossette) A new and disturbing
book is getting a lot of attention around the United Nations
so much that two of its three authors, who still work for the organization,
fear they will be dismissed because they did not get permission
to publish it.
UN
MISSION SPOTLIGHTS KOSOVOS GENDER GAP IN EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
June 8, 2004 (UN News) Kosovo suffers from a serious gender
gap, with the United Nations missions first comprehensive
survey of gender data in the province showing that women are severely
under-represented in the workforce and girls attendance at
secondary school is much lower than that of boys.
MCASKIE
ONE OF U.N.'S FEW WOMEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2004 - (UN Wire, Barbara Crossette) The spotlight shining
on Lakhdar Brahimi in Iraq, and before that in Afghanistan, has
made many more Americans aware that the United Nations has its own
corps of very skilled diplomatic troubleshooters known as special
representatives of the secretary general. These envoys, like viceroys
in the age of empire, can wield considerable administrative power
and influence, especially when countries implode and need to be
rebuilt, as Cambodia was more than a decade ago, or are in the process
of being created anew, as East Timor was under U.N. guidance most
recently. A special representative, however, is almost never a woman,
and more often than not he drawn from a background in politics or
the military.
DR
CONGO'S SHAMEFUL SEX SECRET: YOUNG REFUGEES SELL THEIR BODIES TO
UN PEACEKEEPERS
June 3, 2004 - (BBC) Faela* is 13 and her son Joseph is just under
six months old. Sitting on the dusty ground in Bunia's largest camp
for Internationally Displaced People (IDP), with Joseph in her arms,
she talks about how she ensures that she and her son are fed.
UN:
BULLIES AND BEGGARS
May 28, 2004 - (IPS) As the United Nations gears up to dispatch
thousands of new troops into political trouble spots in sub-Saharan
Africa and the Caribbean, its peacekeeping missions are being undermined
by a shortage of funds, unpaid debts and charges of sexual abuse
against women and children caught in the crossfire.
CASH
CRUNCH, SEX ABUSE CHARGES HIT U.N. PEACEKEEPING
May 27, 2004 (IPS) As the United Nations gears up to despatch
thousands of new troops into political trouble spots in sub-Saharan
Africa and the Caribbean, its peacekeeping missions are being undermined
by a shortage of funds, unpaid debts and charges of sexual abuse
against women and children caught in the crossfire.
NEW
BOOK REVEALS DRUG-FILLED SEX PARTIES ON U.N. MISSIONS
May 27, 2004 (UN Wire) A tell-all book by two U.N. employees
and one former U.N. staffer details regular drug-induced Friday
night sex parties in Cambodia and peacekeeping forces comprised
of convicts and mental-asylum inmates who were often drunk on assignment
and raped local women at will, the Washington Times reports.
U.N.
MISSIONS PAINTED AS BOOZE-SOAKED ORGIES
May 27, 2004 (Washington Times) A book by three current and
former U.N. employees about peacekeeping operations portrays wild
parties with alcohol and drugs, and convicts and mental-asylum inmates
passing as soldiers.
U.N.
PROBES 30 SEX ABUSE CLAIMS IN D.R.C., DISCIPLINES ONE
May 27, 2004 (UN Wire) The United Nations said yesterday
it is investigating 30 cases of alleged sexual abuse of minors by
peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Associated
Press /News24.com, May 27).
UN
LOOKS INTO SEX ABUSE CLAIMS
May 27, 2004 (Associated Press /News24.com) The United Nations
is investigating allegations of 30 cases of sexual abuse of minors
by peacekeepers in Congo, the world body said on Wednesday.
MEMBER
OF UN MISSION IN DR OF CONGO ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE SENT HOME FOR
TRIAL
May 26, 2004 (UN) One member of the United Nations peacekeeping
mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accused of
sexual abuse is being repatriated early and will be prosecuted by
his national authorities, the UN spokesman said today.
U.N.
PEACEKEEPERS SEXUALLY ABUSING GIRLS IN D.R.C. CAMP
May 25, 2004 (UN Wire) Teenage girls in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo who were repeatedly raped by militiamen are being sexually
exploited by U.N. peacekeepers who give the girls food in exchange
for sex, the London Independent reports, giving details on
allegations that have resulted in a U.N. inquiry.
UN
TROOPS BUY SEX FROM TEENAGE REFUGEES IN CONGO CAMP
May 25, 2004 (Independent) Teenage rape victims fleeing war
in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited
by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their
suffering.
SEX
AND DEATH IN THE HEART OF AFRICA
May 25, 2004 (Independent) Hungry, frightened and helpless,
young women in the Democratic Republic of Congo are selling their
bodies in exchange for food and shelter. And the men expecting such
'payment' are the UN peacekeepers responsible for protecting them.
By Kate Holt and Sarah Hughes
UN
STAFF IN CONGO FACE CHILD SEX CLAIMS
May 17 2004 (Financial Times) One of the United Nations toughest
missions in Africa is facing damaging allegations that peacekeeping
troops as well as civilian UN personnel have been involved in the
systematic sexual abuse of minors.
ROLE
OF LIBERIAN WOMEN IN PEACE-MAKING HAILED
May 14, 2004 (UNMIL) Special Representative of the Secretary-General
and Coordinator of UN Operations in Liberia Jacques Paul Klein yesterday
paid tribute to the central role played by the "courageous
women" of Liberia in advancing the peace process during and
after the protracted civil war.
LIBERIA:
NATIONAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE WORKS ON ACTION PLAN 2004-2005
May 12, 2004- (UNDP) 250 women from all parts of Liberia started
last Monday in Monrovia the "National Women's Conference on
Peace and Socio-Economic Recovery in Liberia". They are meeting
during one week to develop a national framework for the participation
of women in the peace, the rehabilitation and the reconstruction
process of Liberia. The conference is organized by the Ministry
of Gender and Development and is supported by UNDP-Liberia, the
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), UNMIL, as well
as the UN system's specialized Agencies.
LIBERIA:
UNMILS CRACKDOWN ON TRAFFICKING PUTS WOMEN AT RISK
May 10, 2004 (Refugees International) In Liberia, crime has
returned with vigor after the civil war. In addition to street crime
and burglary, there are increasing reports of Ukrainian and Moroccan
women being trafficked into Monrovia to serve as prostitutes in
popular bars that double as brothels. The UN Mission in Liberia,
UNMIL, says it is taking the problem seriously. UNMILs Civilian
Police (CIVPOL) has hired an officer to address human trafficking.
However, by not coordinating her efforts with NGOs and other supporting
organizations, her independent actions may actually be exacerbating
the problem.
UN
PROBES REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY CONGO STAFF
May 10, 2004 - (Reuters) The United Nations mission in Congo said
Monday it was investigating allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation
of civilians, including minors, by its staff serving in the northeastern
town of Bunia.
KOSOVO:
TRAFFICKED WOMEN AND GIRLS HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS
May 6, 2004 (Amnesty International Press Release) Despite
some positive measures, trafficking of women and girls remains a
disgraceful human rights abuse in Kosovo. The international community
is responsible for the growth of a sex-industry based on the abuse
of trafficked women, said Amnesty International at a press conference
revealing the result of its research into the trafficking of women
and girls in Kosovo.
KOSOVO:
FACTS AND FIGURES ON TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND GIRLS FOR FORCED PROSTITUTION
IN KOSOVO
May 6, 2004 (Amnesty International Media Briefing) Women
and girls trafficked into Kosovo come from some of the poorest countries
in Europe, where they face discrimination in access to social and
economic rights and have experienced domestic or other gender-based
violence.
UNMIK,
KFOR FUELING SEX SLAVERY IN KOSOVO, AMNESTY SAYS
May 6, 2004 (UN Wire) U.N. and NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo
are fueling a human trafficking industry that sexually exploits
women and girls as young as 11, according to a report released today
by Amnesty International.
SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION IN LIBERIA: ARE THE CONDITIONS RIPE FOR ANOTHER SCANDAL?
April 20, 2004 (Refugees International) In 2002, allegations
of sexual exploitation of refugees by humanitarian workers in West
Africa rocked the humanitarian world. Workers stood accused of abusing
their power by trading access to scarce relief supplies for sex.
The UN and its implementing partners responded by establishing codes
of conduct and stronger performance standards for humanitarian staff.
Many organizations also put in place reporting systems and instituted
sexual exploitation and gender-awareness training for staff. This
scandal drew further attention to the problem of sexual exploitation
that has also plagued the peacekeeping world. Two years later, however,
despite the increased attention to the issue, conditions are ripe
for another public sexual exploitation scandal in Liberia.
BURUNDI:
UNITED STATES SHOULD SUPPORT AN EFFECTIVE AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL PEACEKEEPING
MISSION
April 19, 2004 (Refugees International) Refugees International
strongly urges the Bush administration to drop its opposition to
a multidimensional peacekeeping operation for Burundi. A broad based
approach is needed to deal with the many tasks involved with building
lasting peace. Insisting upon a mission with a strictly military
mandate is a recipe for failure.
WARRING
MILITIAS IN CONGO TEST U.N. ENFORCEMENT ROLE
April 11, 2004 (NYT) In this scrappy frontier town in eastern
Congo, the United Nations faces among the most important tests of
its peacekeeping prowess.
SWING
VISITS KALEMIE AND MANONO
March 29, 2004 (MONUC) Special Representative to the Secretary
General of the United Nations in DRC, Mr. William Swing visited
Kalemie and Manono this week between working visits to Bujumbura
and Lubumbashi. First stop on his agenda, Kalemie. While in Kalemie,
Mr. Swing met with all MONUC staff in a characteristic Town Hall
Meeting..."MONUC is not here for development..." emphasised
the Special Representative, "we have a mandate to accompany
the Congolese Transition to peace and elections. But we cannot ignore
the daily hardships faced by the Congolese...in particular women
and children who have sufferred the most from this war."
UN
SPECIAL ADVISER AND ASSESSMENT MISSION CHIEF MEET OFFICIALS
March 19, 2004 (UN) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's Special Adviser on Haiti and the head of the UN assessment
mission today continued their round of meetings to gather information
on the situation in the Caribbean country after the departure of
one president and the swearing-in of a new interim president, prime
minister and cabinet.
GENDER
UNIT HOLDS OPEN FORUM WITH WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS
March 18, 2004 (UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL) The Gender
Unit of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) held its first
open forum on 16 March with Liberian women's organizations to share
information on the diverse activities carried out by the different
organizations and to identify ways of networking and collaborating.
PROMOTION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PROTECTION FOR WOMEN STILL REQUIRED
March 18, 2004 (Refugees International) As UNAMSIL plans
its exit strategy from Sierra Leone and begins to assess its successes,
it can point to many: increased stability in the country, the return
of refugees from Liberia and Guinea, the establishment of the special
court, a renewed and re-trained Sierra Leone Police (SLP) force,
and a better trained and equipped national army (RSLAF). These successes
are resulting in a rush to close down the offices of UNAMSIL, while
crucial elements to the long-term health of Sierra Leone are being
overlooked, notably strengthening of the justice system and continued
training for government officials and security personnel in the
areas of human rights and gender issues.
JOURNÉE
DE LA FEMME À KISANGANI
11 Mars 2004 (MONUC) A loccasion de la Journée
Internationale de la Femme (JIF) 2004, la Section de l Information
Publique de la MONUC de Kisangani a organisé le lundi 8 mars
2004 une conférence-débat sur le thème : «
La femme face aux enjeux du sida ». La Fondation Femmes Plus
(FFP), ONG daccompagnement psychosocial des personnes vivant
avec le VIH/SIDA a étroitement collaboré à
lorganisation de cette activité.
MAMANS
TAKE TO THE STREETS EN MASSE IN KALEMIE
March 9, 2004 (MONUC) Over 5,000 women marched down the main
street of Kalemie in celebration of March 8th, International Womens
Day. The biggest womens day event to hit Kalemie, the parade
lasted over three hours as each group of women marched past the
Governor of Northern Katanga, the MONUC Head of Office and several
Kalemie authorities.
UN
AUDIT HIGHLIGHTS PROBLEMS IN RECRUITING PEACEKEEPING STAFF
March 4, 2004 (UN News Service) The United Nations Department
of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) took an average of 347 days to
recruit staff to professional-level and other senior posts in 2002
- almost three times longer than the UN target, according to a report
issued today by the UN's internal auditing body.
NATO
URGED TO BAN TROOPS FROM BROTHELS
March 5, 2004 - (Reuters) Western troops abroad should be banned
from brothels and sex clubs that fuel an illegal trade in women
forced into prostitution, the United States and Norway urged their
NATO allies Thursday.
UNMIL
CONDUCTS LIBERIAN POLICE TRAINING ON GENDER ISSUES
February 20, 2004 (UNMIL) The United Nations Mission in Liberia
(UNMIL) Gender Unit is currently conducting training on gender issues
for the Liberian Interim Police Force. The training covers Introduction
to Gender, Sexual and Gender- Based Violence, Gender and Culture,
as well as Gender Issues in policing.
2003
UN
'LETTING TORTURER ESCAPE'
October 3, 2003 (The Guardian) The United Nations broke its
own anti-torture convention by allowing a Zimbabwean police officer
accused of torture to leave its peace force in Kosovo and return
to Zimbabwe where he will probably not face investigation.
TRADING
IN MISERY
September 15, 2003 (IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 460)
Tens of thousands of Eastern European women are falling victim to
the Balkan sex trade.
DYNCORP
DISGRACE
Auguest 19, 2003 - (PrisonPlanet.com) Middle-aged men having sex
with 12- to 15-year-olds was too much for Ben Johnston, a hulking
6-foot-5-inch Texan, and more than a year ago he blew the whistle
on his employer, DynCorp, a U.S. contracting company doing business
in Bosnia.
DARK
SIDE OF PEACEKEEPING
July 10, 2003 (The Independent London) It was late
at night when the woman farmer came out of her house in the village
of Joru in Sierra Leone to go to the lavatory. She saw a large white
truck that had stopped about 50 metres from her home. It was an
unusual sight, so she hid and watched what was going on. Inside
were two white men and a black woman, who was yelling: "Leave
me alone."
TRAINING
PEACEKEEPERS TO PROMOTE HIV PREVENTION AND GENDER-AWARENESS IN SIERRA
LEONE
July 9, 2003 (UNFPA) In March, UNFPA launched a groundbreaking
two-year programme for HIV/AIDS prevention and gender awareness
among peacekeepers in Sierra Leone. With over 15,000 troops, the
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) is currently the
largest peacekeeping force in the world.
UNMISET
REJECTS CHARGES IT FAILED TO PROBE TRAFFICKING
July 3, 2003 (UN Wire) The U.N. Mission of Support in East
Timor (UNMISET) yesterday said media allegations that the U.N. police
have failed to investigate the trafficking of women and organized
prostitution in the country are "without foundation."
FIRST
FEMALE UN POLICE COMMISSIONER ASSUMES DUTY IN TIMOR-LESTE
June 23, 2003 (UN) The first female United Nations' police
commissioner assumed her functions today with the world body's support
mission in Timor-Leste. Sandra Peisley brings to the UN Mission
of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) a wide variety of relevant areas
of policing, including police training, management, investigations
and close protection. She is an Assistant Commissioner in the Australian
Federal Police.
ANNAN
VOICES CONCERN OVER EXTENDING UN PEACEKEEPERS' IMMUNITY FROM ICC
June 12, 2003 (UN) As the Security Council met today to consider
extending immunity for United Nations peacekeepers from prosecution
by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Secretary-General Kofi
Annan voiced concern that it might become an annual routine that
could undermine the tribunals and the Councils authority,
as well as the legitimacy of UN peace operations.
UN
PEACEKEEPERS EXEMPTED FROM WAR CRIMES PROSECUTION FOR ANOTHER YEAR
June 12, 2003 (UN) The United Nations Security Council today
approved a 12-month extension of immunity that effectively shields
UN peacekeepers from potential prosecution by the world's first
permanent war crimes tribunal.
UN
CELEBRATES FIRST INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACEKEEPERS
May 29, 2003 (UN) The United Nations today observed the first
International Day of UN Peacekeepers with a pledge from Secretary-General
Kofi Annan that the world bodys peacekeeping mission would
continue because, even if it cannot by itself end war, it can help
prevent a recurrence of fighting.
FIRM
WITH NEW U.S. IRAQ CONTRACT DROPS BALKAN SEX CASE APPEAL
May 5, 2003 (UN Wire) DynCorp on Friday dropped its planned
appeal of a ruling that it unfairly dismissed a woman who blew the
whistle on DynCorp-employed U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia for frequenting
nightclubs where girls under 15 had sex with customers. The U.S.
firm's dropping of the expected appeal follows its landing last
month of a $35 million U.S. State Department contract to provide
police officers to Iraq.
FIRM
IN IRAQ DEAL DROPS SEX CASE APPEAL
May 3, 2003 (The Guardian) A US company recently awarded
a contract to supply police officers to Iraq yesterday abandoned
an appeal against a decision that it unfairly dismissed a woman
who blew the whistle on colleagues involved in the Bosnian sex trade.
UN
VOLUNTEER LAUNCHES FIRST UN MISSION GENDER WEB SITE
March 7, 2003 (UN Volunteers) Coinciding with International
Women's Day, the
Gender Office of the United Nations Organization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) will tomorrow launch the first
UN mission web site dedicated to gender issues. To visit the new
website, go to: http://www.monuc.org/gender/
(English version). For the French version, visit: http://www.monuc.org/gender/fr
U.N.
GENEVA HEAD LAUNCHES CONFERENCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
February 14, 2003 (UN Wire) International organizations that
are sometimes "reluctant to acknowledge" that their employees
are involved in human trafficking "must not shy away from confronting"
the problem, U.N. Geneva chief Sergei Ordzhonikidze said yesterday
at the opening of a human trafficking meeting in Geneva. Among subjects
to be discussed at the "tripartite plus process" meeting,
the 10th of its kind, are codes of conduct for staff of such international
organizations.
U.N.
OFFICIAL WANTS ACTION AGAINST PERSONNEL INVOLVED WITH SEX TRADE
IN BOSNIA
February 10, 2003 (UN Wire) The United Nations' top human
rights official in Bosnia, Madeleine Rees, is calling for an end
to immunity for U.N. officials involved in the sex trade in Bosnia.
Rees said that those involved in sex crimes in Bosnia must be brought
to justice in their home countries.
PEACEKEEPER
JAILED FOR PORN FILMS
January 23, 2003 - (The Scotsman) An Irish soldier serving as a
United Nations peacekeeper in Eritrea has been caught making pornographic
videos of local women and is now serving a jail sentence in Ireland,
it was revealed last night.
HUMAN
RIGHTS WATCH DETAILS SEXUAL ATROCITIES IN SIERRA LEONES CIVIL
WAR
January 16, 2003 (UN Wire) Extreme sexual brutality against
women and girls marked Sierra Leone's decade-long civil conflict,
according to a Human Rights Watch report released today, but the
violence has garnered little international attention and to date
there has been no accountability for the thousands of sexual crimes
committed mostly by rebel forces. The
report also mentions cases of sexual violence perpetrated by international
peacekeepers. To read this report, "We'll Kill You If You
Cry:" Sexual Violence in the Sierra Leone Conflict,visit
http://hrw.org/reports/2003/sierraleone/
2002
UN
PEACEKEEPERS CRITICIZED
December 22, 2002 (Global Policy Forum) Over the past two
years, UN peacekeepers have been involved in numerous sex scandals.
Recently, in Eritrea where a third of adults are HIV positive, a
UNMEE peacekeeper was involved in making pornographic videos of
local people.
PORN
SCANDAL ROCKS ERITREAN PEACE FORCE: THE UN FORCE IS KEEPING THE
PEACE WITH ETHIOPIA
December 20, 2002 (BBC) A sex scandal has again troubled
the United Nations peacekeeping mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia
(UNMEE).
10
FRENCH NATO PEACEKEEPERS CAUGHT AT OFF-LIMITS BAR IN BOSNIA
December 6, 2002 (UN Wire) A U.N. and local police team in
Bosnia questioned 10 NATO peacekeepers following a raid on a bar
in a Sarajevo suburb suspected of being frequented by prostitutes
and off-limits to the forces, Associated Press reports.
BUILDING
CAPACITIES FOR PEACEKEEPING AND WOMEN'S DIMENSIONS IN PEACE PROCESSES"
CONFERENCE
November 4-5, 2002 A bi-regional conference on Building
Capacities for Peacekeeping and Womens Dimensions in Peace
Processes," an initiative of the Governments of Chile and Denmark,
recently concluded in Santiago, Chile. The purpose of the conference
was to increase the cooperation between both regions by exchanging
ideas concerning the role of women in peace processes and peace
operations. Participants included military and police personnel
as well as government and NGO experts on women and peacekeeping
issues. Members of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security
were among the participants. For more information about the conference,
a website has been created at: http://www.geocities.com/womenpeacekeeping/.
WOMEN'S
VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD IN PEACE MISSIONS, STUDY SAYS
November 1, 2002 - (UN Wire) If the plight of women in war is to
be improved, the United Nations and governments must make a greater
effort to include women in all aspects of peace operations, including
crafting peace and reconciliation programs, according to a study
released by UNIFEM.
BUSH
THREATENS NATO IN LATEST ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE ICC
August 26, 2002- (Feminist Majority News) In President Bushís
latest attempt to strong arm US allies into supporting demands for
American immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the
administration is threatening to use the US role in NATO against
the European Union should they refuse to exempt American personnel
from the newly created court, the New York Times reported today.
THE
SLOW RISE OF WOMEN AS PEACEKEEPING POLICYMAKERS
August 12, 2002 (Refugees International) Few women at the
United Nations are currently in positions to advocate for womens
needs [and perspectives] in peacekeeping operations. At the UN Security
Council debate on Women, Peace and Security on July
26, 2002, Angela King, the Security Councils Special Advisor
on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, reported that only one
out of the 46 Special Representatives to the Secretary General is
a woman. Regarding peacekeeping in particular, women serve in senior
UN positions (Assistant Secretary General or higher) in only two
of the current 15 peacekeeping missions and 12 peace-building missions:
MONUC in Congo, and UNOMIG in Georgia. The Directorate for Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) points out that these numbers do not reflect local
or military positions only DPKO international civilian positions.
THE
SEAMY SIDE OF PEACEKEEPING; WHISTLE-BLOWER VINDICATED AFTER BEING
FIRED FOR EXPOSING UN TIES TO PROSTITUTION RACKET
August 11, 2002 (The Sunday Herlad-Observer) A damning dossier
sent by Kathryn Bolkovac to her employers, detailing UN workers'
involvement in the sex trade in Bosnia, has cost the American her
job with the international police force.
BUSH
SEEKS NATIONS' PLEDGES FOR US IMMUNITY IN ICC
August 7 2002 - (Feminist Majority News) The Bush administration
is asking other nations to promise that they will not press charges
against American peacekeepers and other personnel through the new
International Criminal Court (ICC).
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORT: KOSOVO SEX INDUSTRY
August 5, 2002 - (IWPR) There was hardly any prostitution in Kosovo
before the war - now it's booming
THE
UN ADDRESSES SEXUAL EXPLOITATION BY PEACEKEEPERS (in French)
August 1, 2002 - (IPS) The UN is taking severe measures against
sexual harassment and exploitation of women and children by peacekeeping
troops, said a high-level UN official.
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT: UN COUNCIL RESOLVES IMMUNITY DEBATE
July 15, 2002 - (UN Wire) Ending a controversy that threatened the
future of U.N. peacekeeping, the Security Council on Friday night
unanimously adopted a resolution that in effect grants peacekeepers
a one-year immunity from investigations by the International Criminal
Court. Faced with widespread opposition, the United States had stepped
back from its original demand that its peacekeepers be given permanent
immunity.
IMMUNITY FOR PEACE-KEEPERS
IS A SET BACK FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE: PUBLIC STATEMENT
July 15, 2002 (Amnesty International) Amnesty International
is dismayed at the unlawful decision by all members of the Security
Council to oblige the International Criminal Court (ICC) that seeks
to exempt peace-keepers from prosecution. The Council acted on proposals
initially introduced by the US, which opposes the ICC, and in close
cooperation with the UK.
URGENT APPEAL TO THE
EU TO REJECT ASSAULT ON INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
July 3, 2002 (Amnesty International) As the United Nations
Security Council prepares to discuss proposals today (15.00 New
York time) which would exempt UN peacekeepers from the jurisdiction
of the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International is calling
on European Union governments to reject them.
SINS
OF THE PEACEKEEPERS
June 30, 2002 (Sunday Herald) UN forces are supposed to help
rebuild war-ravaged communities. But, as Magin McKenna reports,
these workers are also pouring money into a flourishing trade in
illegal brothels, rape and trafficking in women
UN
WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS FIRED FOR SEX CLAIMS
June 26, 2002 (Global Policy Forum) A United Nations policewoman
who accused colleagues of being involved in the use of young Bosnian
women as sex slaves was sacked as a direct result, a British employment
court has been told.
NEW:
A GENDER AND PEACEKEEPING TRAINING COURSE
May 23, 2002 - The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
the UK Department for International Development have developed an
online training course on gender for military and civilian personnel
involved in peace support operations. The website was designed by
an Ottawa-based firm, Zed Communications, and it is well worth checking
out!
TRAFFICKING
OF WOMEN IN PEACE MISSION AREAS TO BE DISCUSSED BY INTERNATIONAL
EXPERTS AT MEETING IN TURIN: UN PRESS RELEASE
May 8, 2002 - (UN Information Service) The trafficking of women
in peace mission areas and how to tackle it will be discussed by
international experts at a meeting this week in Italy. The
two-day conference "Trafficking, Slavery and Peacekeeping:
the Balkans Case" is being organized by the United Nations
Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in collaboration
with the Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at the
American University from 9-10 May at the UNICRI headquarters in
Turin, Italy.
IN
SIERRA LEONE, UN AND PARTNERS ADOPT NEW MEASURES TO PREVENT SEX
ABUSE
April 26, 2002 - The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL),
along with key partners, has established a committee to look into
recent allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of children
by aid workers in the region.
TEENAGERS
USED FOR SEX BY UN IN BOSNIA
April 25, 2002 - (London Daily Telegraph) A human rights investigator
who claims she was sacked for exposing the sexual abuse of Bosnian
women by her United Nations colleagues, told a tribunal yesterday
that girls as young as 15 were offered for sex.
NORWAY
WANTS PROCEDURE FOR CIVILIAN COMPLAINTS ABOUT ABUSE BY UN PEACEKEEPERS
March 4, 2002 (AP) Norway proposed on Monday that future
peacekeeping missions contain ways for children and adults to complain
about sexual abuse by UN staff without alleged victims being placed
in jeopardy.
2001
WOMEN,
PEACEKEEPERS AND STEREOTYPING
November 2, 2001 (EuropaWorld) Women should be allowed to
play a larger role in all operations whether political, military,
or policy-making not because they are women but simply
by excluding women you exclude half the best brains and experience
available.
HEADQUARTERS
PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN IN PEACEKEEPING
October 30, 2001 (UN DPI) If gender justice is not addressed,
post-conflict peace-building efforts would suffer, argued women
leaders converging for the implementation of the UN Security Council
resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace, and security.
SEX
WORKER ISSUES UNSURPRISING, FORMER UN OFFICIAL SAYS
September 6, 2001 (UN Wire) A former senior U.N. police official
in Bosnia said yesterday at a U.S. government hearing that issues
arising over sex workers and peacekeepers in Southeastern Europe
should not be surprising and that monitoring of police activities
is of secondary importance to bolstering the capacity of the local
police force.
UN
PEACEKEEPERS IN TIMOR FACE POSSIBLE SEX CHARGES
August 3, 2001 (PPC Peacekeeping News, vol. 18, no. 2) Several
Jordanian soldiers attached to the U.N. peacekeeping force in East
Timor might face charges over alleged sexual misconduct, a spokesman
said on Friday.
UN
TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED SEX ABUSE BY PEACEKEEPERS
March 2, 2001 (UN Wire) The United Nations said Wednesday
it would investigate seven Danish peacekeepers accused of sexually
abusing a 13-year-old girl in Eritrea while on leave from the UN
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea last month.
FACULTY
MEMBER'S REPORT GENERATES HISTORIC UN RESOLUTION
Spring 2001 (Florida International University Magazine) When
Judith Stiehm, FIU professor of Political Science and former provost,
was commissioned last year to write a report on women in peacekeeping
for the Lessons Learned Unit of the United Nations' (UN) Department
of Peacekeeping Operations, she never envisioned that her report
would result in the UN Security Council's adoption of the first-ever
resolution on women, peace and security.
HISTORIAN
PLAYS ACTIVE ROLE IN NEW U.N INITIATIVE
February 13, 2001 (University of St Andrews) Dr Gerard DeGroot
of the University of St Andrews is actively participating in a new
United Nations initiative designed to improve the effectiveness
of peacekeeping and peace support operations around the world. DeGroot,
a reader in the Department of Modern History, has been working closely
with United Nations personnel and representatives from other international
relief organisations for the past 18 months, developing policies
and practices which show greater sensitivity to women and children.
WOMEN
IN PEACEKEEPING: TOWARDS AN ACTIVE AND VISIBLE POLICY
2001 (UN Chronicle Online Edition, Volume XXXVIII, Number
4 2001) The Security Council on 31 October met to consider the item
on women, peace and security, exactly one year after the Council
adopted resolution 1325 (2000), calling on all actors involved in
negotiating and implementing peace agreements to adopt gender perspectives
that included the special needs of women and girls during repatriation
and resettlement, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction.
The Council adopted a presidential statement that reaffirmed its
commitment to the implementation of resolution 1325 and welcomed
the efforts by the United Nations system, Member States, civil society
organizations and other relevant actors in promoting the equal participation
and full involvement of women in the maintenance and promotion of
peace and security and in implementing the provisions of the resolution.
2000
UNDER-AGE
GIRLS IN BROTHELS USED BY KFOR SOLDIERS
December 17, 2000 - (AFP) Under-age girls are working as prostitutes
in brothels in Macedonia regularly visited by German soldiers of
the international peacekeeping force in neighbouring Kosovo (KFOR),
German television reported Sunday.
INQUIRY
INTO ABUSE BY G.I.'S IN KOSOVO FAULTS TRAINING
September 18, 2000 - (New York Times) More than 800 soldiers from
the 82nd Airborne Division, one of the Army's elite fighting units,
were sent to Kosovo last year with little training in the subtler
arts of policing the streets and preventing violence between ethnic
factions, according to an Army investigation into accusations that
members of the unit beat and manhandled ethnic Albanians.
PEACEKEEPING
MISSIONS ARE DAMAGING THE UN
September 5, 2000 - (The Guardian) Peacekeeping missions are proving
as damaging for the UN as they are for the countries where the missions
operate.
ARMY
SERGEANT SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR MURDER OF GIRL IN
KOSOVO
August 1, 2000 (CNN) - A U.S. military court sentenced an
Army sergeant to the maximum life in prison without the possibility
of parole for the sexual assault and murder of an 11-year-old girl
in Kosovo.
UN
SAYS ITS PEACEKEEPERS ARE SPREADING AIDS
July 7, 2000 (Washington Times) Alarmed with the disturbing
phenomenon, the US proposed a UN Security Council draft resolution
that calls the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to educate
all peacekeepers to halt the proliferation of HIV.
HEALTH:
U.S. SEEKS ANTI-AIDS MEASURES FOR PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS
July 6, 2000 - (IPS) The United Nations, fearing the spread of AIDS
among peacekeepers, has purchased over 1.5 million condoms for distribution
to U.N. troops in Sierra Leone and East Timor.
TRAGEDY
IN KOSOVO: TESTIMONY OF STRUGGLE, SUFFOCATION
April 12, 2000 - (AP) A U.S. soldier accused of raping and killing
an 11-year-old Kosovo girl and leaving her body in the snow watched
today as a medical expert testified that the girl died of suffocation
and had wounds consistent with a struggle.
WOMEN
UNITING FOR PEACE
March 8, 2000 (UN Press Release WOM/1192) A special event
held on the occasion of International Women's Day promises to bring
about a greater involvement of women in peacekeeping and conflict
prevention.
COMRADES
TESTIFY AGAINST U.S. SOLDIER IN KOSOVO GIRL'S KILLING
February 18, 2000 (CNN) Military prosecutors presented their
case Friday for court-martialing a U.S. Army sergeant charged with
committing indecent acts and murdering an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian
girl, with a fellow sergeant describing how a soldier led comrades
to the girl's body.
BEHAVIOR
OF U.S. TROOPS UNDER SCRUTINY IN KOSOVO
January 25, 2000 - (CNN) U.S. peacekeeping troops stationed in Kosovo
are under intense scrutiny, following allegations of improper conduct
by U.S. troops.
U.S.
SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF MISTREATING KOSOVARS DURING PROTESTS
January 23, 2000 (CNN) The U.S. Army is investigating allegations
that a number of U.S. soldiers mistreated Kosovar men and women
during protests earlier this month. The suspects have been reassigned
pending the outcome of the inquiry
U.S.
SOLDIER ADMITTED BEING 'IN THE COMPANY' OF MURDERED KOSOVO CHILD
January 19, 2000 (CNN) A U.S. Army sergeant accused of murder admitted
to Army officials that he had "been in the company" of
an 11-year-old Kosovar-Albanian girl in Kosovo around the time of
her death, a senior defense official told CNN.
U.S.
SOLDIER CHARGED IN DEATH OF KOSOVO GIRL
January 17, 2000 - (CNN) A U.S. soldier serving with the international
peacekeeping force in Kosovo has been charged with sexually assaulting
and killing an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian girl, according to U.S.
military authorities.
1999
STUDY
HITS WHITE HOUSE ON PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS
December 6, 1999 (The Washington Times) The White House has
failed to carry out its own written directive to train government
personnel to manage complex peacekeeping operations such as in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Kosovo, according to a Pentagon-financed study.
GLOBAL
RULES NOW APPLY TO PEACEKEEPERS, UN CHIEF DECLARES
August 12, 1999 -(New York Times) Overriding objections from a number
of countries that contribute peacekeeping troops to the United Nations,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ordered that all forces operating
under U.N. command abide by international laws protecting civilians
and governing the conduct of soldiers in war.
DISTURBING
THE PEACE: DATELINE UNCOVERS VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY U.N.
PEACEKEEPERS
January 11, 1999 (MSNBC) They are charged with some of the
most crucial work on earth. For 50 years, United Nations peacekeepers
have been deployed around the globe to put food into the hands of
the starving, to protect refugees from the bullets of warring factions,
to alleviate suffering and to stop torture. But now, Dateline
has uncovered evidence that some of the violence has been committed
by the peacekeepers themselves. Heres Dateline NBC
correspondent Lea Thompson with a disturbing report about abuse
of the powerless.
1998
NOT
ALL ALLEGATIONS ABOUT PEACEKEEPERS CAN BE PROVED: BARIL: 22 OF 60
DISCIPLINED OVER ROLE IN BOSNIA
June 9, 1998 (The Canadian Press) The country's top soldier
said yesterday that incidents involving Canadian peacekeepers in
the former Yugoslavia weren't as serious as he first believed.
1997
BEASTS
IN BLUE BERETS
September 29, 1997 (The New American Vol. 13, No.20) "We
are not going to achieve a new world order without paying for it
in blood as well as in words and money," warned Arthur Schlesinger
Jr. in the July/August 1995 issue of Foreign Affairs. Schlesinger
had taken to the pages of the flagship journal of the Council on
Foreign Relations to vindicate the dubious proposition that the
United Nations military represents the thin blue line dividing peaceful
civilization from savagery -- in short, our planetary police. But
what happens when the planetary police run amok and become the agents
of bloodshed? When local police abuse their power, the abused have
avenues of redress. From what body can those abused by the planetary
police seek justice? The escalating scandal of unpunished atrocities
committed by UN "peacekeepers" illustrates that the planetary
police are beyond accountability.
GOOD
INTENTIONS TURNED TO SHAME
July 5, 1997 (The Economist) AFTERSHOCKS from the UNs
catastrophic 1993 operation in Somalia linger on. Grisly tales of
murder and torture by Canadian, Belgian and Italian troops on peacekeeping
duty cause dismay.
PEACEKEEPING
ATROCITIES: UN SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF TORTURE, MURDER AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
OF CHILDREN
June 24, 1997 (Village Voice, Vol. XLII, No. 25) Two United
Nations soldiers from Belgium will stand trial in their own country
beginning next Monday on charges of roasting a live Somali child
over an open fire during peacekeeping operations in
1993.
ABUSE
OF CAMBODIANS ON UN MISSION IS IGNORED
April 29, 1997 (Ottawa Citizen; Southam Newspapers?) No serious
disciplinary action has been taken against Canadian naval officers
who verbally and physically abused Cambodians during a United Nations
mission.
1996
WHEN
PEACEKEEPERS TURN INTO TROUBLEMAKERS
January 7, 1996 - (NYT) As armies find themselves less at
war and more often on the flimsy barricades of peace, stationed
among desperate and vulnerable people stripped of privacy and dignity,
the behavior of military men and women in peacekeeping missions
is coming under new scrutiny around the world.
1993
U.N.
PROBES ABUSE CLAIMS AT BROTHEL IN BOSNIA
November 4, 1993 (Toronto Star) The U.N. is "actively
investigating" allegations that its peacekeepers in Bosnia
sexually abused women detainees at a Serb-operated brothel near
Sarajevo.
Back
to top
The opinions expressed in the
articles carried by this site are those of the authors and are not
necessarily shared by the Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom, PeaceWomen Project.
|