UN urges thorough probe into abuse of CAR kids by peacekeepers

The United Nations (UN) has urged the countries involved in a child sexual abuse scandal that unfolded in the Central African Republic (CAR), including France, to conduct a wide probe into the case and bring those responsible to justice.

“It is important to do a thorough review of what happened in the past, but also to drive home the message that there must be no repetition of these dreadful acts now or in the future,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement on Sunday.

Last month, a UN report revealed that troops from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea, working as UN peacekeepers in the CAR, allegedly engaged in the sexual abuse of hungry refugee children at a center for internally-displaced people in the African country’s capital, Bangui, between December 2013 and June 201.

France has launched a probe into the matter and has identified some of the French soldiers suspected of abuse. It is not clear whether Chad and Equatorial Guinea have taken any steps of their own toward investigating the allegations.

Hussein, the UN rights chief, said, “In the wake of the revelations of alleged serious sexual abuse of children, currently under investigation by the French authorities, my office has taken a deeper look into these issues and the extent of the follow-up into alleged serious violations.”

UN probing UN

He said that a team of investigators will be deployed to the CAR to probe how top UN officials dealt with the allegations, stressing that those who committed such crimes must be held accountable.

“We need to get to the bottom of what precisely was done by whom and when,” Hussein said, adding “There must be accountability for serious crimes, no matter who commits them.”

The United Nations is under fire because of its slow response and treating the sexual abuse case as confidential.

On Friday, advocacy group Aids Free World demanded an independent investigation into the case.

The non-governmental organization has prepared a report revealing that UN officials have allegedly not done enough to assist an inquiry into the allegations.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the CAR since December 2013, when Christian militia launched coordinated attacks against the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government in March 2013.

Paris deployed troops to its former colony in December 2013, nine months after Seleka fighters captured the capital and ousted President Francois Bozizé. French soldiers were sent to CAR under the pretext of helping African Union peacekeepers restore order following the outbreak of the violence there.

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