On CAR
Rapes, ICP
Asks of Ladsous,
Banned from
UNSC, Spox "On
Vacation"
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
31 -- Amid a
litany of rape
charges
against UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous, Inner
City Press
exclusively
obtained and
on February 12
published UN
emails showing
another round
of sexual
abuse of
minors in
Ouaka
prefecture in
the Central
African
Republic by UN
Peacekeepers
from the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo. Click
here to view.
On March 23 at
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout,
Inner City
Press asked
the DRC's
foreign
minister about
the rapes, and
he said the UN
rapes as well.
Video
here, from
Minute 6:11.
At the March
31 UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City
Press: what I
wanted to ask
is this.
If it is the
case that
there are
rapes taking
place as
recently as
this week and
if the
Secretary-General
had proudly
announced that
the forced
retirement or
resignation of
Babacar Gaye
was a strong
action, what
explains the
continuing
abuse by the
mission?
You brought up
Mr. [Hervé]
Ladsous, and
you said Mr.
Ladsous is
there and
talking to
him.
Obviously,
he's in charge
of UN
peacekeeping.
In this room,
he said
there'd be
fewer rapes if
there were
relatively
cheap [rest
and
recuperation]
flights
out. I'd
like you to
respond to,
like, why
hasn't… if the
Secretary-General
is this
concerned, why
has the only
action taken
thus far been
to get Babacar
Gaye
out? And
I also wanted
to ask you,
given that
this is a
high-profile
consultation
of the
Security
Council, why
is the glass
door to the
Security
Council locked
and the guard
didn't allow
me through the
turnstile?
Spokesman:
Matthew,
Matthew, I'm…
today I'm
taking a
vacation from
your access
issue.
Inner City
Press: I
need it to
cover the
meeting.
Spokesman:
I understand.
Inner City
Press: I
need it to
cover meeting,
and I was Banned
from covering
it.
Spokesman:
Can I answer
your question?
Question:
[Inaudible]?
That's what I
want to ask.
[Was about
Lute.]
Spokesman:
I can't
confirm it
because I
didn't see it
with my own
eyes.
Okay.
First of all,
I think it
would be…
first of all,
to go back to
a point of
disagreement
you and I have
had for a long
time, that's
not what Mr.
Ladsous said.
Inner City
Press:
Did he say
cheap flights?
[Video
here.]
Spokesman:
That's not
what Mr.
Ladsous said.
Second of all,
it is not the
only measure
that has been
taken. We have
seen recently
whole
contingents
being rotated
out. We
have seen
increased
awareness on
behalf of the
mission. I
think the way
this… these
particular
cases are a
testament to
it, how we've
been updating
people very
publicly as
soon as there
are
allegations
we're moving
forward and
we're
investigating.
It is the
responsibility…
the ultimate
responsibility
of Member
States to
ensure that
the troops
that are given
behaved
properly, and
if they don't
behave
properly that
all those
soldiers who
are found
guilty of
gross abuse,
of abuse that
defies words,
be held
accountable to
the strongest
possible
extent of the
law.
Inner City
Press:
Yesterday, in
the lobby, I
spoke with the
Permanent
Representative
of Burundi,
Albert
Shingiro.
I want to say
he was
entirely
chipper, not
even talking
about
rapes.
He was talking
about how
great Pierre
Nkurunziza is
doing.
So I want to
know, will you
say what type
of meeting was
this?
It's described
by you as
taking these
TCCs
[troop-contributing
countries] to
task, and yet
if the
Permanent
Representative,
who just had
the meeting,
isn't
concerned and
isn't talking
about it…
Spokesman:
You know,
frankly, what
the Permanent
Representatives
may tell you
on your lobby
beat and what
may happen in
the meeting
are two
different
things.
Mr. Khare was
very direct
into… into the
allegations.
The commitment
we received
from Burundi
is that they
would be
sending
national
investigating
officers
within the
next few days
and that they
were taking
these
allegations
extremely
seriously.
Inner City
Press:
You know
they're
investigating
mass graves as
well, right…?
Spokesman:
I'll move on.
And move
on he did.
On
March 31,
after being
Banned from
the stakeout
as the Council
met about new
rapes in CAR,
Inner City
Press
belatedly
entered. After
outgoing UNSC
President
Gaspar Martins
read Press
Elements,
Inner City
Press began to
ask him about
the
allegations
again the
French
Sangaris
force,
including
bestiality.
To cut
off Inner City
Press'
question,
Agence France
Presse's
Carole Landry
said,
"Journalists
first." Video
here.
Landry
is on the
executive
committee of
the UN
Correspondents
Association,
which headed
by Giampaolo
Pioli has
lobbied UN
official
Cristina
Gallach to
oust Inner
City Press
from its
shared office
and from the
UN. But should
Gallach be
partnering
with a group
that tries to
shout down
others, or
call them
non-journalists,
at the
stakeout?
After Pioli on
March 24 came
to the Council
stakeout and
four times
called Inner
City Press an
"a*hole," audio
here,
nothing was
done. Pioli
was present on
March 31 but
apparently
stood behind
"enforcer"
Landry of AFP.
Below
is what Code
Blue put out
on the evening
of March 30.
But first, the
UN's belated
spin, hours
after USG Gallach's
eviction order
- and after
Inner City
Press ran into
Burundi's
Ambassador
Albert
Shingiro in
the UN lobby -
since it does
not have
access to its
long time
office- and he
spun Burundian
troops' good
behavior:
"On Friday 25
March the
United Nations
Multidimensional
Integrated
Stabilization
Mission in the
Central
African
Republic
(MINUSCA)
announced that
it had
received new
allegations of
sexual
exploitation
and abuse that
had taken
place between
2013 and 2015
by UN and
non-UN
personnel, as
well as by
local armed
groups, in the
Kemo
prefecture of
the Central
African
Republic.
Further
information
was also
provided by
the
Spokesman's
Office on
Monday, 28
March.
A MINUSCA-led
integrated
team comprised
of Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services
(OIOS), Human
Rights, Child
and Women’s
Protection,
Conduct and
Discipline,
UNICEF, UNFPA
and UNHCR
travelled to
the area and
is now on the
ground. The
exact number
and nature of
these
extremely
troubling
allegations
are still
being
determined.
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.
Alleged
victims are
being
interviewed
and will be
provided with
assistance and
psycho-social
and medical
support.
The Burundian
and Gabonese
units
allegedly
involved will
remain
confined in
camps during
the
investigation,
except for
essential
tasks.
The United
Nations has
formally
notified the
Troop
Contributing
Countries in
question, as
well as to the
French
authorities,
informing them
of these
allegations.
The Troop
Contributing
Countries have
been requested
to send
investigators
immediately to
participate
jointly in the
ongoing
investigation.
The Under
Secretary-General
for Field
Support Atul
Khare met with
the Permanent
Representative
of Burundi on
Wednesday, 30
March and the
Security
Council will
be briefed on
the latest
developments
in closed
session on
Thursday, 31
March. A
meeting with
representatives
of Gabon will
take place as
soon as
possible.
More
information
will be
provided as it
becomes
available."
, 
