Charges Will Not Be Brought Against UN Peacekeepers In Africa Accused Of Child Abuse
The New York Times has reported that “a panel of French judges has decided not to bring charges against soldiers accused of having sexually abused children while on a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.”
The accusations have a troubling backstory that is detailed in a December 2015 independent report on the situation. The 170-page report heavily scrutinized not only the possible role of UN peacekeepers in child abuse cases in the ailing African nation but also the failure of UN officials to react in a proper manner. Among those accused of failing in their role in this situation were the head of the UN mission in CAR, UNICEF and the UN Human Rights staff in CAR – page 2.
There were inadequate measures taken to protect the children before the event and an absolute failure to consider their health after the event. Allegedly, no one within the organization wanted to take responsibility for the issue, and as such, it infringed on the victims’ human rights. The report impugned the bureaucratic nature of the United Nations.
Failures at all levels have led to citizens in CAR to protest the presence of the UN in their country, which led to 4 deaths and 14 injured.
Even more troubling is the fact that the Central African Republic has one of the lowest ratings on the UN’s human development index.
These children were the most helpless kind of victims, and it could be a sign that the UN was hoping to ride this situation out with the hope that no one would pick up the story. In fact, the report notes that the head of the HRJS “encouraged the SRSG [Senegalese Army General] of MINUSCA to keep the Allegations quiet” due to the political sensitivity of the allegations –page 7.
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