U.N. Peacekeepers abusing 13 years-old Prostitutes in Refugee Camps

09/17, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned sexual abuse allegedly carried out by U.N. peacekeepers. (UN Web TV)

An internal investigation led by the United Nations reveals some of its peacekeepers have been accused of having sexual relations with young girls under 13 years old in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The M’Poko camp is located near Bangui international airport, which is the capital of the country.

The U.N. began its mission in Central Africa at the beginning of 2014, in order to help the country end the civil war. However, it has been marked by numerous scandals all related to alleged sexual attacks and sexual exploitation. Exactly 22 cases of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation have been attributed to the United Nations’ peacekeepers in the last 14 months.

In the camp of M’Poko in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least four peacekeepers are being accused of having had sexual relations with underage prostitutes, according to the Washington Post. The girls were offered to soldiers for derisory sums of money: from 50 cents to 3 dollars, confessed a source -who prefers to remain anonymous. The nationalities of the four accused have yet to be communicated officially by the U.N. However and still according to the Washington Post, the 4 culprits have apparently been identified as being French, Moroccan, Burundian and Gabonese.

“The M’Poko camp is unfortunately a place where horrible, unacceptable things are happening to women and children”, said Anthony Banbury, who serves as United-Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support. “In some cases, we have credible allegations that there are U.N. personnel that have committed these crimes”, he continued. For Anthony Banbury, the abuse perpetrated by peacekeepers “undermines everything the organization stands for”.

Ban Ki Moon recently named these sexual attacks “a cancer to our system” and is willing to publicly shame the countries whose peacekeepers are implied in this sickening abuse. “A failure to pursue criminal accountability for sexual crimes is tantamount to impunity,” he said. Countries must quickly investigate and hold their troops accountable.

Sources: Voice of America, The Guardian, The Washington Post

U.N. Peacekeepers abusing 13 years-old Prostitutes in Refugee Camps