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http://news.yahoo.com/un-chief-ready-throw-peacekeepers-over-sex-abuse-184049596.html
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/09/u-n-s-8-3-billion-dollar-peacekeeping-operations-under-scrutiny/
UN Sec-General
Warned He Was Ready to Throw Out Entire Peacekeeping Units if Their Country
Fails to Act Against Soldiers Accused of Sexual Abuse.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
By Carole
Landry -
September 17, 2015
United Nations
(United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday he was
ready to throw out entire peacekeeping units if their country fails to take
action against soldiers accused of sexual abuse.
The warning was
among a series of measures unveiled by the UN chief at a meeting with the 124
countries that contribute troops and police to UN peace missions worldwide.
"I will not
hesitate to repatriate entire contingents or terminate deployments where there
are failures in command and control, evidence of widespread or systematic
violations, or when member-states fail repeatedly to respond to requests for
investigations or to investigate promptly," Ban said.
The United Nations
has been badly shaken by a string of sexual abuse claims targeting its
peacekeepers, in particular in the Central African Republic, where many of the
17 allegations involve victims as young as 11.
Ban has moved to
toughen the UN response to the crisis in peacekeeping but is heavily reliant on
troop-contributing countries to do their part in confronting serious misconduct
allegations.
Last month, Ban
took the unprecedented step of firing the mission chief of the peacekeeping
force in the Central African Republic over the wave of accusations, but new
allegations have continued to surface.
In his address,
Ban outlined seven measures that he said would help stamp out sexual abuse such
as suspending pay to soldiers who face serious allegations.
The United Nations
pays peacekeeping countries a stipend of about $1,000 per month per soldier who
serves in their missions.
Ban proposed that
the money from the suspended pay be transferred to a trust fund to help
victims, a measure that is bound to meet some resistance from contributors.
Among the most
controversial measures is a proposal to begin collecting DNA samples of
peacekeepers to help with investigations and setting up courts-martial in the
host country to allow justice to be witnessed.
- Peacekeeping
summit -
Peacekeeping
nations must take "prompt and determined action" to prosecute their
soldiers and ensure that the punishment is severe, Ban argued.
"I am
frustrated that too few cases are prosecuted and sanctions are not nearly
strong enough."
Under UN rules, it
is up to member states to investigate and prosecute their soldiers who face
serious accusations while serving under the UN flag.
The UN chief
warned he was ready to name specific countries whose troops are accused of
serious misconduct, a measure that troop-contributing nations have strongly
opposed in the past.
The drive to clean
up peacekeeping comes as US President Barack Obama is due to host a summit on
September 28 on the sidelines of this year's annual gathering of world leaders
at the United nations.
The United States,
which foots the bill for nearly 30 percent of the UN's $8 billion peacekeeping
budget, hopes to draw European nations back to the blue helmets.
Britain is
expected to announce a "significant" new contribution to
peacekeeping, up from its current 250-member force serving in Cyprus, a British
diplomat said.
In toughening the
response to the sex abuse scandals, the UN chief is walking a fine line at a
time when peacekeeping missions, in particular in Africa, rely on contingents
with varying degrees of military discipline.
For instance, the
Democratic Republic of Congo military, which has been accused of serious rights
violations, is serving in the MINUSCA force in the Central African Republic.
Ban called for
stronger vetting of soldiers and warned that any troops not meeting UN
standards will be sent home at the country's expense.
More than 105,000
troops and police serve in the United Nations' 16 peacekeeping missions
worldwide.
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Pakistan are among the top troop-contributing nations.