Leaker
of French
Pedophilia in
CAR Ordered
Reinstated, UN
DPKO's Ladsous
Urged Him to
Resign: Cover
Up
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 6 --
French
soldiers in
the Central
African
Republic
allegedly
sexually
abused
children, as
exposed in a
UN report
leaked by
staffer Anders
Kompass and
first reported
by The
Guardian.
After more
than nine
months, no
action has
been taken,
other than the
UN suspending
Kompass for
the leak.
Now 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."
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.
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.
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.