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UN says new sex abuse allegations in DR Congo

Saturday, 16 April 2016 5:55 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 16 April 2016 5:54 PM ]

This AFP photo taken on October 23, 2014 shows members of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) standing near a UN armored vehicle in Beni, northeastern DRC.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has acknowledged the receipt of new complaints of sexual abuse by peacekeepers.

Maman Sidikou, the head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), told reporters in the capital, Kinshasa, on Saturday that the mission had received seven new allegations of sexual abuse by its soldiers.

Five involve Tanzanian soldiers who arrived last September, one involves the South African contingent and the seventh case involves forces from Malawi, Sidikou said.

Earlier this month, the UN had announced it was investigating accusations regarding Tanzanian peacekeepers based in northeastern Congo sexually abusing and exploiting five women and six girls, leaving them all pregnant.

"All of these cases are presumed cases of either pregnancy or of paternity ... and eight of the victims are minors," Sidikou said.

The UN is hit by a huge sex scandal involving peacekeepers and monitors accused of either exploitation or raping women and children of both sexes in exchange for money, food, water and other commodities.

Amid the scandal, the UN has ordered an entire contingent of troops from the DRC to return home.

The UN forces have been accused of so many sexual abuse cases that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the phenomenon "a cancer in our system" and vowed a “zero tolerance” approach toward violators.

“It betrays the values and principles that the UN purports to advance, and tarnishes the credibility of United Nations peacekeeping operations and the United Nations as a whole,” Ban stated.

Human rights advocates and experts say systemic issues still hinder the investigation and prosecution of alleged abusers, leading to a sense of impunity among UN troops.

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