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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video, Q&A

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 -- While the UN plans to downsize the UNAMID mission in Darfur in Sudan, the Troika of the US, Norway and UK on June 19 issued a statement that "The Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) condemns the ongoing clashes between the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) and Government of Sudan forces as well as inter-tribal violence in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur. The civilian population continues to bear the brunt of this unnecessary violence, which has led to the burning down of villages, causing high numbers of civilian injury and death, and the displacement of nearly 9,000 people. It is unacceptable that the Government of Sudan has repeatedly prevented the African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and humanitarian actors from accessing the areas of conflict and displaced populations." So the government of International Criminal Court indictee Omar al Bashir, with whom UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met without even telling the ICC in  advance as required, it blocking UNAMID, the mission is packing up to go. And aren't two in the Trokia permanent members of the UN Security Council? Not fit for purpose. A sleazy long term pattern of UNHCR bribery in Sudan was alleged in detail on May 15 by IRIN, but without mentioning that current UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Antonio Guterres RAN the agency. This is similar to UN favored media not inquiring into Guterres' time at UNHCR in terms of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Meanwhile, Guterres' UN has moved IRIN which rarely asks questions at his spokesmen's briefing into its own office while continuing to restrict Inner City Press which asks questions every day. Guterres has feet of clay, and is a censor. But who's counting? It must be mentioned - even after UNHCR, Guterres met with Sudan's Omarl al Bashir, even before asking / telling the ICC about the meeting. Since then, Guterres' res rep Marta Ruedas took a "Two Niles" award from Bashir. But this is not generally reported. From IRIN's Guterres-less but still useful story: "several individuals named in interviews with refugees as engaging in corrupt practices were still employed there as of February 2018.

“We call it the mafia – they’re supposed to be caring for refugees, but here, they think of themselves,” said one Ethiopian man in Khartoum, sitting on a bed donated by another refugee he said had paid to be resettled in Australia. The man asked not to be named because he fears arbitrary arrest and deportation by Sudanese security agents, a common concern among Khartoum’s refugees.

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch confirmed that the agency’s independent, Geneva-based Inspector General’s Office (IGO), which is mandated to look into allegations of misconduct, is carrying out the investigation.

“UNHCR does everything to ensure the integrity of the resettlement programme as it is absolutely vital to maintain the confidence of refugees and the states involved,” Baloch said. “UNHCR investigations are led by professional investigators.'" Baloch, always polite to Inner City Press, is also the one who only half responded when a UNHCR staffer from Cameroon said Paul Biya's government should crackdown harder, amid now increased torching of villages and grandmothers. We'll have more on this. The UN has disclosed child rape charges against one of its peacekeepers from Nepal in South Sudan, in a 6 pm Friday dirty data dump that has become the UN norm. The child rape allegation is accompanied by another sexual exploitation allegation against a South African UN peacekeeper in the DR Congo, both dated April 20 like an earlier one against a peacekeeper from Niger, the dating of which the UN never explained when Inner City Press asked. Six UN cases of sexual exploitation by peacekeepers were disclosed on the UN's website at 5 pm on Friday 13 April, in what can only be described as a dirty data dump. On April 23, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric about this practice, and about the alleged child rape. Video here; UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  I wanted to ask you about sexual abuse and exploitation.  On Friday, at 5 p.m. or past 5 p.m., which now two Fridays in a row, it was a… what some see now as kind of a data dump in terms of the timing of it, the disclosure…

Spokesman:  It's not Friday everywhere at 5 p.m., all right?

Inner City Press: Okay. At Friday at 6 p.m. in New York in UN Headquarters… they've disclosed child rape, alleged child rape, by a Nepali peacekeeper in South Sudan, as well as in MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo], more South African allegations, in this case an adult.  And I'm just wondering, it seems like… one, does… does the UN treat these allegations where it's a child more seriously and what… all… all it says is… in each of these disclosures, is pending, pending, pending, pending.  What's the status of the Nepali accused in this case?

Spokesman:  The [United Nations] Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) received an allegation of sexual abuse involving unidentified members of the Nepalese contingent.  The UN has informed, obviously, Nepal of the allegation.  We've requested a full investigation be conducted by the troop-contributing country within the expedited timeframe of 90 days, jointly with a team of… from OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services].  In this respect, the member… Nepal's response whether it will investigate the matter is expected by 25 April or on.  UNMISS, as you know, has a zero… like all of us, have a zero-tolerance [policy] and no excuse and no second chance approach to child sexual exploitation and abuse.  The Mission reiterates that such acts should be properly investigated, and where applicable, criminal prosecution be pursued under the law of the contributing country.  I mean, obviously, any act of sexual abuse is horrendous; one involving a child, I think, is especially heinous, if one needs to qualify these things." And yet they just dump the data on Fridays. And Inner City Press' coverage was picked up in South Sudan, here. Back on April 13, one involves alleged child rape by a UN civilian contractor in South Sudan, four involve Nigerian soldiers in Liberia, and one a soldier from Nigeria in the Central African Republic. This last is dated April 20, which hasn't yet arrived. The data, and the UN, is dirty in at last two ways. As this batch was being released, UNSG Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric left whistling; he does not answer Inner City Press' written or even some in-person questions. (This may be his boss' orders, see Guterres' non-answer on April 13, here.) On April 16, Inner City Press asked Dujarric in person, as it had on April 14 in writing without response, about the discrepancies. He at first dodged, then dissembled. From the UN Transcript: Inner City Press: I'd wanted to ask you, it seems like, on Friday, at just after 5 p.m. the UN disclosed a new set of sexual exploitation and abuse cases.  So, I'd… I'd asked you immediately thereafter why one of them is dated 20 April.  And it seems like, since we haven't reached then yet… maybe they're reading into the future, but that's a case in the CAR [Central African Republic], which you were just talking about, Niger, sexual exploitation.  There's a case of child rape, alleged child rape, by a civilian UN contractor in UNMISS [United Nations Mission in South Sudan] and several cases from UNMIL [United Nations Mission in Liberia], I guess from the past.  One… so, what can you say about these cases? What's being done on them? Two, why is one of them dated in the future?  And then I have a question about UNAIDS [Joint United Nations Programme against HIV/AIDS]?

Spokesman:  I don't know why the dating issues…

Inner City Press:  I'm looking at it.

Spokesman:  I'm not debating the veracity of what you're telling me.  I'm just saying I don't know, which happens to be a fact on a lot of things, in fact.  The UNMISS case relates to allegations of rape of a 15-year-old minor, implicating a local contractor from the UN Mission in South Sudan, which resulted in a pregnancy.  We're, obviously, deeply concerned about the serious allegation which was reported in late March.  Through the support of our partners and the victim rights advocate on the ground, the victim has received immediate medical and psychosocial assistance.  The allegations are being investigated by OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services], and the local authorities are also informed of the allegations.

Inner City Press: But… so, do they have immun… I guess my question is, it says OIOS, but it seems like, if this is a… a local staff that's presumably allegedly raping a local citizen, is it subject to local law?

Spokesman:  It's a local contractor.  I think we're… it's being investigated.

Inner City Press:  And on UNAIDS?

Spokesman:  I'll come back to you on UNAIDS.... [Later]

Inner City Press: I just am saying the column that I was reading to you about 20 April 2018, it says "date" at the top of it.

Spokesman:  I have no doubt that you are right." And still, ten hours later, nothing. Meanwhile at the UN Stakeout, Guterres' envoy on Sexual Violence and Conflict said she no longer reports on UN abuse, Periscope video here, it's up to Jane Holl Lute - who says she doesn't follow the details. Guterres is making the UN worse and worse. Watch this site.  Inner City Press earlier in the month first reported and asked about two ten new cases, by a Burundi soldier in the Central African Republic, and a Gambian police figure in Liberia, before that UN Mission closed. The CAR mission MINUSCA is very much ongoing, making the alleged sexual exploitation by the force sent by "Eternal Supreme Guide" Pierre Nkurunziza all the more problematic. Since South Africa has been allowed to get away with not even suspending its accused soldiers - the UN even tried to cover this over with a colloquy, see below - one wonders how the UN will proceed with Burundi. When also wonders, when did the UN become aware? On April 5, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  I'd wanted to ask about, yesterday, it seems it was…  that it was yesterday that…  that new sexual exploitation allegations went up on the website.  The last time that I was asking was about the…  the most recent ones were five from…  in the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] by South African troops.  They were…  they were dated on the website March 20th.  And now two more have gone up, but they're both backdated or…  somehow they're dated March 20th.  So, it's a little difficult to know, but I had not seen them before.  So, I want to ask you about them.

One is a Burundian troop in MINUSCA in the CAR [Central African Republic].  The other is a Gambian police officer in the now closed UNMIL.

Spokesman:  Right.

Inner City Press:   What… is the dating correct?  Was…  what explains the gap between putting them up and… and them being dated that date?

And, two, what's the status of the…  of the Burundian?  Particularly, that mission is still open.  Is the person suspended, not suspended?

Spokesman:  I don't know why the issue of the dating was.  But, obviously, as you know, the Secretary-General has pushed forward, and we have been implementing a policy of much greater transparency in putting up allegations as they come to us and to the Conduct and Discipline Unit.

The one you're referring to about Burundi was reported last month to the Mission in the Central African Republic.  It relates to an exploitative relationship between a member of the Burundian military contingent who had been formally deployed in the Mission and an adult female.  The alleged victim has received medical assistance from an NGO inter-SOS and was referred to our partner UNFPA for further assistance.  The UN has requested the Member State to inform us whether it will appoint a national investigative officer.  They have until March 9th to respond to the request.

My reading of this is that the military person in question is no longer deployed there.

Inner City Press:  When you say March 9th, you mean April 9th.  I'm just… I'm… I don't know.  I just heard you say that.

I'm just… if it's possible to know going forward, just for reporting purposes, if something goes up…

Spokesman:  I didn't say March, did I say March 9th?

Inner City Press:   You did, but it doesn't…

Spokesman:  Okay.  No, I didn't mean March 9th.

Inner City Press:   My point is, can…  maybe you can find some answer.  In terms of seeing these things when your office is closed or wouldn't otherwise respond to an email, it's hard to know if they're… to call them new… are they new? If you put them up in April…

Spokesman:  If they're up on the website for the first time, they're clearly new.

Inner City Press:   Okay.  So, what does it mean to say March 20th? That's when they became aware, and it just happens to be the same date as all…

Spokesman:  That's when the Mission became aware.  But, I mean, the point is, we're talking about a few weeks.

Inner City Press: You understand the word…  to use the word "new," we don't want to misuse the word…

Spokesman:  As I said, if you haven't seen it, it's new to you." What an organization. Watch this site. On March 19 Inner City Press immediately reported on the previous cases: all in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the accused all from South African, all cases "pending." Since there was a recent group of "UN SEA" allegations against the South African contingent in DRC, it was unclear if these were the same or related case. So Inner City Press on March 20 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who as it turned out had a prepared if-asked statement, that these are in fact new cases, that the UN is concerned - but not so concerned that he read out the statement without being asked, by the press he threw out of the Briefing Room and still restricts. This is the UN's disclosure, once a month, while they spin. Since then South Africa has said it will not suspended the troops during their own investigation. On March 28 outside the UN Security Council meeting on Peacekeeping, Inner City Press asked Council member Sweden's Ibrahim Baylan, Minister for Policy Coordination and Energy, if troops shouldn't be suspended once the UN finds probably cause to put on the list. His answer is here - and it seems that the answer is yes. Meanwhile, South Africa's SABC spin continues, witness this "interview" allowing the SA minister to speak at length in defense and obfuscation. And this too is how the UN works, or doesn't: Agence France Presse a day late reported the story, making it appear that spokesman Stephane Dujarric had unilaterally disclosed the rape. But this wasn't enough spin: after Inner city Press on March 22 asked Dujarric to describe South Africa's (lack) of coordination with the UN in investigating and he promised to return with an answer, on March 23 he called on SABC, "Mr President" of the UN Correspondents Association, for whom Dujarric previously evicted Inner City Press from the briefing room and its office, for a colloquy on South Africa - UN cooperation. Then Inner City Press asked about the SANDF spokesman bragging no one is suspended until proven guilty. Inner City Press asked if those accused could be re-deployed, then, to other UN missions. Dujarric didn't say no - he repeatedly dodged the questions. Video here. We'll have more on this - and this: on March 22 Reuters "reported" that "U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric was cited as saying late on Tuesday in a transcript sent to Reuters on Wednesday." So the news hook was when Reuters got by email - or carrier pigeon? - the transcript of Dujarric answer to Inner City Press' question about a story Inner City Press had already published, and was in Google News. This took Reuters three people: "Reporting by Fiston Mahamba; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Alison Williams." But see video, and transcript here and below.  On March 22, Inner City Press asked Dujarric more, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: since I'd asked you about the new South Africa… DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] allegations of sexual, as I'm sure you've seen, based on your answer to that question, the South African National Defence Force has fired, only with words, saying that it's disturbing and disconcerting that they're being… it's said that they're cooperating with the UN in such matters when the truth is the opposite.  So, I just wanted to ask you, not… are you satisfied with their cooperation?  Have they allowed…?

Spokesman:  I have no… I will try to get an update.  I have no update since… concerning their cooperation since we briefed you last, but I will get you something." Even with his if-asked, Dujarric could not explain the notation on each case "Pending ID of personnel involved." He promised to revert on this, which he has yet to do on Inner City Press' March 19 question about UN action on PTSD after two suicides by Japanese peacekeepers after returning from South Sudan. And he didn't by late March 20 when this UN transcript went online: Inner City Press: the other one has to do with these new cases of sexual exploitation and one case rape that were put on the conduct and discipline website yesterday.  They seem to be in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they involve South African personnel.  I know that we've heard of this before… we've heard of one round of these.  I'm just wondering, if these are the ones that were previously disclosed, I guess, before going in this monthly data… data dump, why is it that every… every line is pending, including identity… pending ID of personnel involved?

Spokesman:  No, I think these are new cases that took place… alleged to have taken place between 2014 and 2016 in North Kivu and in South Kivu.

Inner City Press: Right.  So when did the UN become aware of them?  Because I noticed these are done basically on a monthly basis.  It's not like they're…

Spokesman:  No, they're done…

Inner City Press:  So, it's always on the 20th? [Cross talk]

Spokesman:  The Mission has received reports of sexual exploitation and abuse involving five members of South African military contingent in the DRC.  According to the information available at this time, all five incidents involve paternity and child support claims.  Four of the incidents were reportedly ongoing sexually exploitative relations with adults.  One incident concerns the sexual abuse of a minor, though she is now an adult.  As I said, the incidents took place in 2014… between 2014 and 2016, both in North and South Kivu.  Ensuring the provision of assistance to victims is our priority.  The women and children have been referred to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) respectively for support and assistance.  The Mission will continue to monitor their well-being and needs, as well as provide any additional assistance, such as the collection of DNA samples for paternity testing.  We have informed the Member States of this allegation and have requested that the National Investigative Officers be appointed between five… within five working days and the investigation's being completed with new reduced 90-day timeframe, due to the serious concern raised by the new allegations.  We've also requested that the investigation be jointly conducted with a team from OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services), but our requests for a joint investigation was previously rejected by the South African Government for the last set of allegations.  So, we do expect that that may be the case here, as well.  We're, of course, gravely concerned about the allegations, which come only a month after three reports of sexual exploitation involving the South African military contingent were received by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).  Allegations against this contingent continue to occur, despite our sustained efforts to partner with Member States and to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as other forms of misconduct.  The Mission and its partners on the ground encourage anyone who becomes aware of such behaviour to report so that it can take action.  We put the victims' rights and dignity first and are committed to ending impunity for all sexual acts.

Inner City Press:  So that was what was in the binder.

Spokesman:  No, it was not in the binder.  I carried it separately.

Inner City Press: Oh, great.  Could I ask just one thing, because it's… I'm just wondering because it says down this column called "interim action”, "pending ID of personnel involved".  Does that mean that, despite this lengthy statement, that the UN has no i… knows who the victims are, but has no idea who the alleged…

Spokesman:  No, that… I don't believe that's the case." No follow up. Amid the UN's decade long claim of “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse and exploitation, on March 13 a press conference was announced with decade long, now part-time, UN official Jane Holl Lute. Inner City Press asked her why the UN Peacekeeping mission UNMISS has denied South Sudan's request for a role in investigating alleged sexual abuse of South Sudanese IDPs in Wau by UN Police from Ghana. Video here. Back in late January  UN international staff member in Mali was disclosed to have been accused of rape, and an Ethiopian peacekeeper with the UN Mission in Liberia was accused of sexual exploitation. While the alleged rapist - the UN has not disclosed his nationality - has been put on leave, the sexual exploitation change is listed only as "pending." Photo here. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he has a "zero tolerance" policy for sexual harassment - this as he held an UNdisclosed (until Inner City Press asked), and many say UNjustifiable, meeting with Sudan's Omar al Bashir indicted for crimes by his forces in Darfur.  Guterres chief of "Global Communications" Alison Smale argued that all UN staff including victims should "speak with one voice" which several staff told Inner City Press they took to mean, Don't make the UN look bad.

 On March 13, Inner City Press also asked how soldiers for example from Sri Lanka are vetted by the UN, given a showing that the four past commanders sent from Colombo to UNIFIL had troubling war records. Related story here.

She referred the UNMISS question to her Conduct and Discipline Unit colleague, who said joint investigations should be possible under the model Status of Forces Agreement (certainly news to Juba).

The second question on vetting wasn't answered at all. There was a third question, which Inner City Press also put to Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric: how did the UN investigate the complaint by the Bishop of Bangassou in the Central African Republic that IDPs there were sexually exploited by UN “peacekeepers” and some became pregnant?

Dujarric cited OIOS, the same UN Office of Internal Oversight Services in which the South Sudanese government said it has no confidence. Dujarric added that Guterres met the Bishop during what Inner City Press dubbed, from a DPI Town Hall meeting, his “litmus test” visit to CAR.

In the March 13 press conference Inner City Press asked if Jane Holl Lute's office (report here) has jurisdiction over alleged abuse or exploitation by UN officials against UN staff or contractors, as is alleged at UNFPA in India. Getting no answer, Inner City Press tried to explain: blue on blue SEA.

 Jane Holl Lute said she doens't like - or has zero tolerance for - the term “blue on blue.” But what about the UNFPA case? Or one was are looking into regarding UNHCR in Sri Lanka under Guterres? Watch this site.

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