Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 -- French soldiers in the Central African Republic allegedly sexually abused children, as exposed in a UN report leaked by staffer Anders Kompass. After more than nine months, no action has been taken, other than the UN suspending Kompass for the leak.

 On May 7, Inner City Press posed more questions about this, to the UN's Special Representative on Sexual Violence and Conflict Zainab Bangura and to the French Mission to the UN and its Ambassador Francois Delattre, video here.

  SRSG Bangura told Inner City Press that her Office has no jurisdiction ovr the French troops' alleged rape of children in CAR. Her Office's website says that CAR is one of its eight "focus" countries. Later on May 7, Inner City Press came from multiple sources to learn that Bangura met with Delattre this week not only about the Middle East but first about the CAR sexual abuse and exploitation charges. We will have more to report on this.

 But first, Inner City Press submitted these questions to Delattre's two spokespeople at the French Mission to the UN, at 1:45 pm:

"Hello. This is a Press request for your Mission (ideally, Permanent Representative) to confirm and comment on that the alleged sexual abuse by Sangaris personnel in the Central African Republic was discussed in your / his most recent meeting with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

"Separately, what is your Mission's position on whether the allegations in the UN report regarding Sangaris personnel fall within the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and if not, why not.

"Have other questions, but wanted to ask these, Pressingly, in the spirit in which days ago suggested some press availability on this ongoing topic. Thanks in advance."

  Having no answer, Inner City Press asked Ambassador Delattre, did you meet with SRSG Bangura about the alleged rapes? He was affable and slowed, but did not answer. Video here.

  At 7 pm on May 7, Amb Delattre's spokesman and chief of staff Thierry Caboche replied:

"Dear Sir, Thank you for your question. On this issue, the French President made a very clear statement last week, which I am happy to translate in English if need be:

« Nous avons saisis la justice. Et maintenant, il conviendra d’aller jusqu’au bout des procédures. Quand les faits seront établis - s’ils le sont - et si ces informations sont confirmées, par les enquêtes judiciaires et par l’enquête de commandement, alors, à ce moment-là, et par la justice et par les autorités militaires, il y aura des sanctions qui seront à proportion des faits qui auront été constatés. Les sanctions seront graves, elles devront même être exemplaires. Je serais implacable. »

"The Ministry of Defense also recalled today that every effort and measures have been deployed to allow for the manifestation of the truth, and that the military investigation will be declassified."

  Inner City Press, less than ten minutes after Caboche's response and two hours before publishing this story, replied:

Thanks, just want to try one more time on deadline: I am asking about SRSG Bangura's meeting with Ambassador Delattre, about the Middle East but also the CAR alleged rapes, for your side / comment on it. And for France's position on the jurisdiction of Bangura's Office, since France (back to Amb de la Sablierre and Ripert) helped set it up and develop it. I am writing about that and so asking for your comment."

  But no response has been received. We will have more on this. Meanwhile Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row atop UN Peacekeeping, denied his UNDT-documented role in urging the whistleblower who exposed the rapes to quit, then refused to answer any questions about it. What's next?

 The UN has been trying to distance itself from the scandal by saying it had nothing to do with DPKO. (The UN still refuses to explain or answer why DPKO chief Herve Ladsous, a long time French diplomat, appears in the UN Dispute Tribunal order reinstating the leaker as having urged that the leaker "resign" or be fired.)

  So Inner City Press told Bangura, this is not DPKO, these are French soldiers in the Central African Republic. Same answer: no jurisdiction. The UN Spokesman seemed to say, it's in the mandate. We'll check - but if so, if this UN Office on Sexual Violence and Conflict does not cover French soldiers demanding sex from children for food, that what good is the Office?

  We'll have more on this.  (Bangura also spoke, movingly, about the plight of women and children in the Islamic State area, including the inability to get birth documents which she said is a problem through the region.)

Photo: UN Sexual Violence in Conflict Bangura. @FUNCA_info asks of #CAR rapes (#UNCA 1st Q didn't) pic.twitter.com/SCtLBNk3Gk

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 7, 2015

  The UN Dispute Tribunal has issued an order reinstating Kompass to his position. (Inner City Press has put the full Order online here; Guardian coverage here.) Tellingly, the order says in Paragraph 9 that the request that Kompass resign for having leaked and made public pedophilia by French solder was "made by the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations."

  On May 6, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq:

Inner City Press: about the leaker of the Central African Republic rape allegations against the French forces.  There's a… as I'm sure you know, there's a decision by the Dispute Tribunal to reinstate him or to suspend the suspension.  And it says in it… this is what I wanted to ask you about.  It says that he was met with on March 12th 2015, and the Deputy High Commissioner requested his resignation, adding that such a request had been made by the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations [Hervé Ladsous].

So what I wanted to know is — I've heard from this podium that these alleged child rapes had nothing to do with DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations), that DPKO has no link to them.  So, one, can you explain why the Under-Secretary-General of DPKO would ask for the resignation of the leaker?  Two, why this was… this request was made pending the OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services) report, which is constantly cited as we can't say anything until OIOS is done.

And also, just finally, I wonder, is the abuse that's alleged in that report, does that make the French force Sangaris eligible for listing on the Secretary-General's Children and Armed Conflict abuser's annex?  Thank you.

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  Well, on the last, that would be a question for the Office of the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict to consider.  But they certainly consider a wide range of allegations against many different forces around the world, and it would be up to them to determine whether that is one of those.  That would fall under their purview.

Regarding the details, you're quite right that the Office for Internal Oversight Services is continuing its investigation.  While that happens, there's not a lot I can share about much of the substance of this to avoid saying anything prejudicial one way or another about the handling of this.  Of course, what we've made clear is our concerns about the manner in which confidential information, in particular the identities of child victims of these extremely serious allegations, was communicated to external actors in possible breach of strict rules that exist to protect victims, witnesses, and investigators.  And that is something that the High Commissioner… High Commissioner Zeid [Ra'ad Al Hussein] has made clear.

Regarding what you'd said at the outset, yes, I can confirm that the staff member who is placed on administrative leave on the 17th of April with full pay pending the results of the investigation, that yesterday a judge of the UN Dispute Tribunal ordered the decision placing the staff member on administrative leave be suspended pending the outcome of a management evaluation.  The staff member has thus resumed service.

Inner City Press:  I have one follow-up question.

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  Yeah.

Inner City Press: I wanted to do this in the correct way.  My question is, it goes back to this, it's been said and it was said yesterday in a written response by your office that this… that the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy doesn't cover Sangaris because of the link or lack of link between UN Peacekeeping and Sangaris.  So what I don't understand is, I understand the concern of the Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights about names being redacted and possible threats to victims, but what is the possible connection between the Under-Secretary-General of Peacekeeping, which was not the author of the report and in which it has been said from here is not connected to the report or to the force, to asking for this individual to resign other than the nationality of the USG, which is French?  Can you explain why his role in this…

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  First of all, I can't even confirm that particular charge.  As I've said, many of these are pending the results of the investigation, and I will wait for that to come out to have the facts about this.  The concerns that we have had are what I stated and what I just said again right now which had to do with the handling of evidence.

Inner City Press:  But is that peacekeeping's concern?  Sorry.

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  And regarding the… regarding the issue of Sangaris, yes, what we have said is that the nature of the cooperation between the UN and Sangaris forces was not such that we had any sort of command and control or operational links that would bring into play the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.  Yes.

Inner City Press:  I have another follow-up.

Voice of America:  [inaudible] tape recorder up front, I'm hearing a whole nother briefing.

 And so the next follow up question was not taken. But we will stay on this.

  This USG of DPKO is Herve Ladsous, a long time French diplomat before France placed him as the fourth of its nationals in a row atop DPKO. That ostensibly "UN" official Ladsous urged punishment of a Swedish UN staffer who leaked about sexual abuse by French soldiers in CAR is a new outrage. Who, the question becomes, should resign?

  The UN Dispute Tribunal Order, dated May 5 and reported by Inner City Press before 8 am on May 6, was issued by Judge Thomas Laker, and formally suspends the decision to place Kompass on administrative leave. Inner City Press is putting the 18 page decision online here.

UN Leaker of Report of French Sexual Abuse in CAR Ordered Reinstated, Ladsous Wanted Him Fired for Making I... by Matthew Russell Lee

  The context of Ladsous urging the "resignation" of a UN system staffer who made public child rape by French forces is that Ladsous has, since at least 2012, refused to answer Press questions about rapes by other of UN Peacekeeping's partners, in the DR Congo Army, see compilation here. Who should resign? 

 Systemically, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the UN how its supposed "Human Rights Due Diligence Policy" applies to its work with the French forces in CAR.

  Now the UN has sent Inner City Press this answer: conveniently, the UN's human rights policy DOES NOT apply:

"Regarding your question on the human rights due diligence policy and the French forces in the Central African Republic, our peacekeeping colleagues inform us that the human rights due diligence policy applies for UN support to non-UN forces. In the case of CAR, during the period of the allegations contained in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report, MINUSCA did not provide support to Operation Sangaris. MINUSCA has a working relationship with the French operation which does not fall under the human rights due diligence policy framework."

  While there is more to be said about the level of coordination between the MINUSCA mission, run by Frenchman Herve Ladsous, and the French Sangaris force, they are described as conducting operations together.

  So it appears that rich countries can buy their way out of the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy. The Congolese Army needed or wanted supplies and transportation from the UN, opening them up to Ladsous' use of the Policy to justify the UN not participating in operations against the Hutu FDLR militia.

 Richer countries might "coordinate" with the UN, using its perceived legitimacy, but be exempt from any human rights due diligence.

  Does the Policy cover the French Force Licorne the UN has worked with in Ivory Coast?

 And if the UN or Ladsous can exempt French soldiers' rapes from the UN's supposed Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, could the UN say these child rapes don't require the inclusion of the perpetrators' forces on the Annex of the UN's Children and Armed Conflict report? We'll have more on this.

 No soldier has been prosecuted. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made that clear when he urges the perpetrators to turn themselves in.

 It now emerges that UN Peacekeeping did not suspend any collaboration with the French forces, unlike its decision to not support the Congolese Army fighting the Hutu FDLR militia in the DR Congo. Both decisions are attributable to UN Peacekeeping chief (and long time French diplomat) Herve Ladsous.

 On May 5 Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric to compare the relationships between Ladsous' MINUSCA mission in CAR and the French forces, and his MONUSCO mission and the Congolese Army, with support suspended to fight the FDLR. Video here.

  Dujarric said every relationship is different - clearly - and then when Pressed added that the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, cited by Ladsous to not fight the FDLR, applies "across the board."

 So, Inner City Press asked, how was it applied, or not, to the French forces once the UN had the child rape allegations, nine months ago?

  Dujarric paradoxically said that's under the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services. But OIOS is not in charge of the UN's supposed Human Rights Due Diligence Policy. Ladsous' refusal to answer questions, and misuse of UN Peacekeeping, is bringing UN Peacekeeping to ever-new lows.

On May 1 from Geneva the spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zaid, Rupert Colville, sought to explain or bolster the reputations of the Office, and of France.

  At the UN's noon briefing in New York, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq read out loud from Colville's statement. Inner City Press asked questions, such as had the UN told the CAR authorities what it knew about the rapes, and if not, why not.

  Haq never answered this question. He said that Colville is preparing a timeline -- clearly, Colville knows if OHCHR gave the report to CAR or only to France.

 Inner City Press also asked about the UN's investigation into OHCHR staffer Anders Kompass having leaked information about Western Sahara to the Moroccan government, and why that investigation took so long that leaking continued, to France of its victims' names. Haq would not say which investigation began first, a key point.

  Haq said that Inner City Press was cutting him off, and turned to the representative of the UN Correspondents Association to support him, and then to ask questions of which he approved. The UNCA representative began by saying that who the UN told, and when, wasn't important.

  Haq said, this is how questions are supposed to be asked -- apparently, the questions the UN wants, from the partners it selects, ignoring the UN's own role in problems. It was World Press Freedom Day at the UN; the Free UN Coalition for Access will have more on this.