U.N. peace keeping troops in a ceremony in Central African Republic (CAR), where a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct have been received since the mission was established in April 2014. (File photo)(AP)
"The latest case emerged last week, when Amnesty International accused a U.N. police officer, part of a group it said was from Rwanda and Cameroon, of raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl...
On Monday, the U.N. mission in Congo tweeted a series of warnings, including an image of a girl on a bed next to a peacekeeper uniform with the words, "No sex with children!" The tweet was later deleted...
Even when allegations are substantiated, often no action is taken. In 2013, the most recent year for which such data was available, countries punished their troops or police in just over half of such cases. Of the 16 cases, the U.N. repatriated people in 12. Countries then jailed their citizens in five cases, dismissed them in two and demoted or suspended them in two, as of the end of last year.
In two instances of credible allegations of child sexual abuse, including the abuse of a half-dozen children in Haiti by multiple U.N. police officers, peacekeepers were sent home but no punishment was listed...
The U.N. says it has no way to vet each of the more than 200,000 people who rotate through six-month peacekeeping stints every year for past misconduct. A Misconduct Tracking System is limited to certain officers and civilian staffers. A report by Ban earlier this year on tackling sexual misconduct says ways to vet troops and police 'are under development.'..."