s o s: Widespread child sex abuse by UN

An international watchdog must be set up urgently to investigate widespread cases of child sex abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers, a British charity said today.

Save the Children demanded action after its research found that starving and desperate youngsters as young as six were being coerced to sell sex for food, money, soap and even mobile phones in war zones and disaster areas.

Hundreds of young people from Ivory Coast, Southern Sudan and Haiti were involved in the research behind the conclusions.

One of them was 'Elizabeth', who was 12-years-old when she was snatched from the roadside early one morning last June and dragged into the bush by 10 UN peacekeepers who raped her one by one.

Village elders who tried to report the attack to senior officers in the Ivory Coast claimed their allegations were ignored. Since the attack 'Elizabeth' says she has dropped out of school and lost interest in life.

Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children UK, said: “This research exposes the despicable actions of a small number of perpetrators who are sexually abusing some of the most vulnerable children in the world, the very children they are meant to protect.

“It is hard to imagine a more grotesque abuse of authority or flagrant violation of children’s rights."

The report said that all organisations, including Save the Children, had their share of abusers involved in “some of the most despicable abuse against some of the world’s most vulnerable children”.

Charities and peacekeeping bodies should face up to the fact that the scale of abuse was “significant” and that victims were being let down by “endemic failures” in responding to reported incidents, it concluded.

Better reporting mechanisms should be introduced, it said, and efforts made to strengthen child protection systems across the globe.

“In recent years, some important commitments have been made by the United Nations, the wider international community and by humanitarian and aid agencies to act on this problem," said Ms Whitbread.

“But welcome as these are, in most cases statements of principle and good intent have yet to be converted into really decisive and concerted international action.

“All humanitarian and peacekeeping agencies working in emergency situations, including Save the Children UK, must own up to the fact that they are vulnerable to this problem and tackle it head on.”

The reputation of UN peacekeepers has been tarnished in the past by cases of sexual abuse against women, notably in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Haiti.

Accused of turning a blind eye for decades to cases of abuse by its peacekeepers, the world body recommended in 2005 that erring soldiers be punished, their salaries frozen and a fund set up to help any women or girls made pregnant.

The “zero tolerance” policy towards sexual misconduct includes a “non-fraternisation” rule barring them from sex with locals.

It was brought in after revelations in December 2004 that peacekeepers in DRC were involved in the sexual abuse of 13-year-old girls in exchange for eggs, milk or cash sums as low as one dollar.

In January 2007 the UN promised to investigate after an internal report by its children's aid organisation, Unicef, documented cases of sexual abuse by the 10,000 UN police, peacekeepers and staff from over 70 countries in southern Sudan.

In November last year, the UN said that more than 100 Sri Lankan soldiers were to be sent home over charges that they paid for sex while stationed in Haiti.

Publication of the findings comes amid two massive international aid efforts - for the victims of the Chinese earthquake and the cyclone in Burma

Nick Birnback, from the United Nations’ department of peacekeeping operations, said the details in the report were “absolutely appalling”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The vast majority of UN peacekeepers all over the world ... serve with honour and courage in very difficult situations and don’t engage in this unacceptable behaviour.

“The question for us is figuring out ways to address those that do and ensure there is zero impunity and zero complacency when confronted with these types of appalling allegations.”

Andrew Mitchell, the Shadow International Development Secretary, said: “Any UN soldier or aid worker found guilty of abuse should be dismissed and held accountable by the full force of the law.”

Michael Moore, the Liberal Democrat international development spokesman, said that Britain should take the lead.

“The British Government should champion a global watchdog on this issue, and the United Nations must ensure that all peacekeepers and aid workers acting on its behalf are held to the highest moral standards," he said.

“All aid programmes and peacekeeping missions must have stringent procedures in place for dealing with allegations of abuse.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4012013.ece?token=null&offset=12

A global watchdog should be urgently established to monitor sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers and humanitarian workers, a leading aid agency said today.

Save the Children said that despite international commitments to tackle the problem, the scale of the exploitation of minors remained "significant". In its report, No One To Turn To, the agency said that research in south Sudan, Ivory Coast and Haiti suggested there was still "chronic underreporting" of sexual abuse in conflict-affected countries, where children as young as six were being targeted by adult foreigners.

Abuses included rape, child prostitution, pornography, sexual assault, and the trading of food and mobile phones for sex. Children told researchers that most victims were too afraid to report the crime, fearing punishment, stigmatisation or the withdrawal of aid.

Call for watchdog to monitor peacekeeper child abuse