UN Peacekeepers Trade Food, Money For Sexual Favors (from ATSNN)

U.N. reported that peacekeeping soldiers have been trading food and small amounts of cash for sexual favors to women and girls, as young as 13, in the Congo. There had been serious problems of sexual exploitation reported, but the number of cases have increased. As many as 150 allegations have been made, thusfar. Even with the investigations going on, it seemed to not bother any of the peacekeeping troops in the region.



With the abuse case in Abu Ghariab prison, that made the U.S. not look very good at all to the world, especially with the constant conflict we have already there. Now, you have UN peacekeeping troops doing the same similar thing in another part of the world.

Eventually, when things like the Tsunami that devasted the Asian region, and the UN sends peacekeeping troops in, many countries are not going to want the help, in fear that what has happened in the past will happen to their people as well. I guess the people that do these things dont realize the detriment and "black-eye" they display to the very people that will need our help in the future. If this continues, when we need help or those countries that have helped in the past, supporting troops to UN missions, wont do ask for it. These kind of actions have to cease immediately, before it gets to far out of hand. What has happened to decency of the world, the people and what are we teaching our children of the future?

It was the same in Cambodia in 1990 to 1993. These guys actually made a lot of money and whored lots of women and children by "selling" commodities and articles of aid. Damn pricks. I personally know of an Indian Colonel who made a large amount of money disposing off duty free luxury items like televisions and high protein mlik powder.

Its just ridiculous and these guys have no shame for what they are doing to these girls. I mean yeah they dont have much, but taking their dignity away, not to mention, what IF they get them pregnant. And are they using any type of protection? Alot of those areas are high in diseases, HIV runs rampid in those countries, a portion of the children are born HIV positive, what are they thinking?

Tried to obtain more info on these allegations, didnt find anythign really but did go to the UN website and of course, its telling me the document is under EMBARGO. If I get anything else on this, I will post it. Here is the website to the UN mission there...seems like what these troops are doing is about the same thing the rebels and other resistance fighters are already doing.

www.monuc.org...

Originally posted by mscbkc070904
Tried to obtain more info on these allegations, didnt find anythign really but did go to the UN website and of course, its telling me the document is under EMBARGO. If I get anything else on this, I will post it.

There were a few posts on this on ATS already.
I think one of the first articles on this was from the Independent link

They've since made the article a 'click&buy' article which is no longer free.

Here's a copy of it from another site:

Teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their suffering.

The Independent has found that mothers as young as 13 - the victims of multiple rape by militiamen - can only secure enough food to survive in the sprawling refugee camp by routinely sleeping with UN peace-keepers.

Testimony from girls and aid workers in the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Bunia, in the north-east corner of Congo, claims that every night teenage girls crawl through a wire fence to an adjoining UN compound to sell their bodies to Moroccan and Uruguayan soldiers.

The trade, which according to one victim results in a banana or a cake to feed to her infant son, is taking place despite a pledge by the UN to adopt a "zero tolerance" attitude to cases of sexual misconduct by those representing the organisation.

One girl, Faela, 13, whose son, Joseph, is not yet six months old, has described how the social stigma of her fatherless child, the result of repeated rape by militiamen in her village, mean she is treated like a pariah in the chaotic and violent Bunia camp, which is home to 15,000 people.

She said: "It is hard in the camp for the girls like me with little babies and no husbands. We have no men to look after us. We have been dirtied by the soldiers who came to our villages. No one will take us as their wives and it is hard to get food in the camp for us."

She added: "It is easy for us to get to the UN soldiers. We climb through the fence when it is dark, sometimes once a night, sometimes more."

One worker, employed by Atlas, the aid group that manages the camp, confirmed that staff were aware of the trade in sex but were too frightened to tackle it.

He said: "There is nothing to stop them and the girls need food. It is best to keep quiet, though. I am frightened that if I say something I may lose my job and I have children of my own to feed."

The UN has announced its own inquiry into the allegations, warning that it will apply "all available sanctions" against those responsible. But doubts remain about the effectiveness of the investigation and the ability of the UN to bring those responsible to justice.

It appears that the women are actively seeking out the UN soldiers.
The Congolese age of consent is 14 so they aren't breaking laws in Congo by engaging in sexual conduct with someone of that age but it's still wrong.
The age of consent in Morocco is 15 and the age of consent in Uruguay is 16 so anything under that would be illegal in their own countries.





[edit on 8-1-2005 by AceOfBase]

Thanks I tried to find something on this before, but I wasnt able to find anything, maybe I didnt search it with correct parameters. Thanks AceOfBase.