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UN Widens Probe Of Fresh Sex Abuse Allegations In Central African Republic

A team led by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in CAR has traveled to the Kemo prefecture to investigate.
Louis Charbonneau
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Siegfried Modola / Reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday said it has widened an investigation of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by foreign peacekeepers in Central African Republic and notified authorities in France, Gabon and Burundi about the charges.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday the world body had received new sexual abuse allegations against U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic (CAR), including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.

The U.N. press office released new information about the probe late on Wednesday, saying that a U.N. team led by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in CAR, known as MINUSCA, had traveled to the Kemo prefecture to investigate.

"The exact number and nature of these extremely troubling allegations are still being determined," the U.N. statement said. "The team has identified the contingents in question as those provided by Burundi and Gabon."

"Allegations made against the French Sangaris forces in the same area are also being investigated," the statement added. "Alleged victims are being interviewed and will be provided with assistance and psycho-social and medical support."

The U.N. statement said a senior U.N. official met with Burundi's Ambassador Albert Shingiro and will meet soon with representatives of Gabon.

"Allegations are allegations," Shingiro told Reuters. "We have to wait for investigation by a national team from next week. Our national policy on sexual abuse is zero tolerance."

The U.N. statement added that the Burundian and Gabonese units accused of involvement in the abuse would remain confined to their camps for the time being. The statement said authorities in France and Gabon have been notified.

The French and Gabonese missions were not immediately available for comment.

There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in CAR, where MINUSCA assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. France has been investigating allegations against its Sangaris force, which is not under U.N. command, since last year.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Code Blue Campaign run by the advocacy group AIDS-Free World issued a statement saying that the U.N. children's fund UNICEF recently interviewed 98 girls who alleged that they had been sexually abused by international peacekeepers.

Code Blue said in its statement that three victims interviewed by MINUSCA reported that in 2014, "they and a fourth girl were tied up and undressed inside a camp by a military commander from the Sangaris force and forced to have sex with a dog."

Reuters could not independently confirm the allegations raised by Code Blue.

The U.N. has pledged to crack down on sex abuse allegations to avoid a repeat of past mistakes. MINUSCA's previous head, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month.

In December, an independent review panel accused the U.N. and its agencies of grossly mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse and rape by international peacekeepers in CAR in 2013 and 2014.

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Before You Go

Sketches Of HIV In The Central African Republic
Marie(01 of05)
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Marie was one of the first patients I met. While in Mboki, a community about 78 miles away from Zemio, one of our HIV nurses and I went looking for her specifically because he was worried. And with good reason -- this young lady in her mid-20s couldn’t have weighed more than 90 pounds. Her cheekbones, ribs and elbows looked ready to pierce through her taut, dusky skin.

We took her back to Zemio and she stayed with us off and on for several months. Her relatives in Zemio refused to accept her in their home because she was HIV-positive and not a close enough relative, so she stayed with us instead. She was always accompanied by her bright, energetic daughter, who was always ready to lend her mom a helping hand. (credit:Diana Johnson)
Nadia(02 of05)
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Nadia -- a bright, energetic, squirmy, quirky, clingy ball of joy! She was HIV-positive and had lost both her parents, presumably to the same disease. Her grandma did her best to take care of her, but since they lived several towns away from Zemio, in Kitessa, it was difficult for them to come fill their medications. Many of the country's roads are out of shape, prone to flooding and destruction by militant groups like the Lord's Resistance Army.

I first met her in the hospital. She was 4 years old, runny-nosed and shyly hiding behind her grandma. The shyness didn’t last long. One of the program's doctors and I had to do hospital rounds while passing Nadia back and forth between us, as she would cling to us, making little sounds and greeting the patients.

Children are often the most vulnerable in HIV care, as they have to rely on someone else to give them their medications, which are complicated as they change dosage as they grow up. Nadia has a lot of life left to live -- hopefully she can be there for all of it. (credit:Diana Johnson)
Christine(03 of05)
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Christine was a gentle older woman who came from around 60 miles away with chronic diarrhea that left her thin and emaciated. MSF's HIV team started her on counseling, initiated treatment for her diarrhea and then antiretroviral treatment for her HIV.

Every time I saw Christine, she was a little stronger and started developing a healthy glow. She went from being bed-bound to a healthy working woman. (credit:Diana Johnson)
Jean de Dieu(04 of05)
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Teenage years can be a rough time of emotional transition and HIV can complicate this process further. I first met 15-year-old Jean de Dieu when he approached me, explaining that his parents were dead, and that he had no place to live and no one to pay for his education. I later met his aunt and uncle, who said Jean refused to go school despite their paying. He also didn't get along with his cousins. He was a difficult character to read, would often avoid eye contact, and shared stories that conflicted with his family members' reports.

But Jean and I developed quite a bond. On mornings that I would go running on the airstrip, I’d often find Jean de Dieu jogging along beside me in his plastic green shoes. He’d tell me about wanting to go to school in Sudan or stories about his family, or he’d just quietly fall into step beside me. On my last day in Zemio, Jean de Dieu was at the airstrip with a plastic bracelet to give me, with tears in his eyes. (credit:Diana Johnson)
Untitled(05 of05)
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This drawing is not of a particular patient but one that represents the general success of our program. When HIV-positive women take their antiretrovirals correctly, they can negate the possibility of passing HIV on to their children during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. I’m happy to say that over 95 percent of the babies born to HIV-positive moms in our program were HIV-negative. (credit:Diana Johnson)
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