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Stop protecting peacekeepers who rape, Ban Ki-moon tells UN member states
Source: The Guardian
Stop protecting peacekeepers who rape, Ban Ki-moon tells UN member states
Chris McGreal in New York
Thursday 17 September 2015 11.20 BST
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has called on countries whose soldiers are responsible for rape and sexual exploitation on peacekeeping missions to stop covering for their crimes and put them on trial.
Ban said sexual violence by peacekeepers was “a number one priority” after a series of severely embarrassing revelations of rape and exploitation, often involving children.
UN officials acknowledge that the organisation has failed sufficiently to address the issue, in part because of the threat by some countries to pull their peacekeepers out of UN operations if they are publicly named and shamed.
But Ban said the UN was limited in its response because governments refused to give it the authority to do more than order peacekeepers responsible for sexual abuse to return home. He called on member countries to show “greater institutional responsibility” by investigating and prosecuting their troops.
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Chris McGreal in New York
Thursday 17 September 2015 11.20 BST
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has called on countries whose soldiers are responsible for rape and sexual exploitation on peacekeeping missions to stop covering for their crimes and put them on trial.
Ban said sexual violence by peacekeepers was “a number one priority” after a series of severely embarrassing revelations of rape and exploitation, often involving children.
UN officials acknowledge that the organisation has failed sufficiently to address the issue, in part because of the threat by some countries to pull their peacekeepers out of UN operations if they are publicly named and shamed.
But Ban said the UN was limited in its response because governments refused to give it the authority to do more than order peacekeepers responsible for sexual abuse to return home. He called on member countries to show “greater institutional responsibility” by investigating and prosecuting their troops.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/stop-protecting-peacekeepers-who-rape-ban-ki-moon-tells-un-member-states