ICP
Asks UN for
Update on Rape
of Aid Worker
in Bentiu,
None, "Stop
Asking"
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 19 --
When
peacekeepers
from France
allegedly
raped children
in the Central
African
Republic and
the UN learned
about it a
year ago, the
UN
and
UNICEF
did nothing,
until UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous asked
to fire the
whistleblower
in March of
this
year.
Inner City
Press asked
UNICEF about
its role,
here.
After BuzzFeed's
Jina Moore
documented
that when an
aid worker was
allegedly
raped inside
the UN's
Bentiu
"Protection of
Civilians"
site in South
Sudan, the UN
system
did little to
nothing --
until on July
27, in transcribing
its answer
to Inner City
Press'
questions, the
UN added in a
parenthetical
that Nobert
did not work
for the UN.
So on
August 19,
World
Humanitarian
Day, Inner
City Press
asked UN
spokesperson
Vannina
Maestracci for
an update, if
anything was
done, video
here, transcript here:
Inner City
Press: about
the aid worker
that was raped
in a Bentiu
camp in South
Sudan.
And much was
said from this
podium of what
the UN system
including the
agency which
turned out to
be UNICEF was
doing.
And the
victim… the
alleged victim
herself has
asked… has
tweeted at
your office
and Inner City
Press asking
what has
happened
since?
And since it’s
Humanitarian
Day, it seems
like the right
time to
ask. Are
you aware of
any steps
taken since
this was
reported in
Buzzfeed to
get to the
bottom of the
rape of this
aid worker
working in the
Bentiu camp of
the UN?
Associate
Spokesperson:
I’m not aware,
but it might
just be me so
don’t, it
might just be
because I was
on, working on
something
else. So
I’ll… okay?
Inner City
Press: Should
I do it now or
can I do it
late—
Associate
Spokesperson:
Are you going
to stop asking
questions?
Well,
no - Inner
City Press is
NOT going to
stop asking
questions.
Still,
shouldn't the
UN provide
some
protection and
accountability
for aid
workers in the
employ of
non-governmental
organizations
funded by the
UN system,
particularly
inside UN
"protection"
camps like
that in
Bentiu?
On July
28, Inner City
Press asked
the UN's top
humanitarian,
Emergency
Relief
Coodinatory
Stephen
O'Brien, about
the case. Video here. O'Brien said he had
recently been
in the Bentiu
camp but, not
speaking
specifically
of the case he
said he did
not know, to
his credit he
said that
facts should
be looked into
and
investigated.
But will they
be?
Minutes
later Inner
City Press
asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric why
such an
investigation
was not done
in this case
-- did it turn
on the fact
that the
alleged victim
did not work
for the UN
system but for
a UN fundee? Video here.
The UN to its
July 27
transcript
added, "[The
Spokesman
later
clarified that
Ms. Nobert did
not work
directly for
the UN. She
was employed
by an NGO
doing contract
work for a UN
agency.]"
Compare to
actual
briefing, video here.
Not
only did UN
spokesman
Dujarric
refuse to
identify
UNICEF, run by
former US
government
official
Anthony Lake,
as the UN
agency which
did not act on
the alleged
rape, except
to provide
"contact
information"
of the
contractor --
UNICEF, which
was in charge
of the bore
hole drilling
in which the
alleged rapist
was engaged,
has not
directly
responded on
the scandal.
Inner
City Press on
July 27 asked
UN Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric what
accountability
there is when
UN agency
personnel
themselves are
raped. Video
here, and
embedded
below.
Dujarric began
by calling it
a horrendous act
- then said
that what the
UN system did
was give the
victim the
contact
information of
the
contractor.
But, Inner
City Press
asked, since
Sudan-based
Life for
Construction
has let the
alleged rapist
Amed Asmail's
contract
expire, how
will this
"contact
information"
help the
victim?
Dujarric
declined to
even identify
the agency,
which used
public funds
to contract
for water bore
holes for the
Bentiu camp;
when Inner
City Press
asked if it
was UNICEF or
IOM, he cut
the question
off. Video
here.
"has
maintained
staff in
Bentiu and is
rapidly
responding to
the urgent
needs,
drilling new
boreholes for
water, and
today flying
in parts for
the
construction
of new
latrines.
However,
UNICEF said it
remains
hindered by a
lack of
funding and
access."
UNICEF
also sat on
reports of the
sexual abuse
of children in
Central
African
Republic;
we'll have
more on this.
For now,
here's this,
and now UN's
transcript of
briefing - a
[parenthetical]
was later
added,
highlighted
below in bold:
Question:
Sure.
Questions on
Burundi but I
wanted to ask
you something,
you may have
anticipated
coming.
It was a story
which was on
Friday on
BuzzFeed,
quite
detailed,
about an aid
worker in the
UNMISS camp
(United
Nations
Mission in
South Sudan)
in Bentiu, who
alleges that
she was raped
by a UN vendor
or contractor
working for
Life For
Construction.
Basically the
gist of the
article is
that the UN
did absolutely
nothing and
OIOS (Office
of Internal
Oversight
Services) said
they could not
investigate
and there are
no recording
or reports of
sexual abuse
or
exploitation
by vendors
anywhere in
the UN, DPKO
(Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations) or
other
systems.
So I wanted to
know, what is
your response
to it?
What does the
UN owe people
in its
protection of
civilian camps
if they are
raped there,
and why was
nothing done
in this case?
Spokesman:
Well, I think
this was
clearly a
horrendous act
and I think
people who
work, aid
workers,
humanitarian
workers, who
work within UN
camps are owed
the best
possible
protection,
that's
clear.
In this
particular
case, the
agency for
which Ms.
Nobert worked
is greatly
concerned for
the well-being
and safety and
security of
all those
working with
it to deliver
humanitarian
assistance
anywhere in
the world and
it took these
particular
allegations
very
seriously.
[The
Spokesman
later
clarified that
Ms. Nobert did
not work
directly for
the UN. She
was employed
by an NGO
doing contract
work for a UN
agency.] When
it became
clear that the
person accused
of the attack
on Ms. Nobert
was, in fact,
an employee of
a company
hired to
undertake work
for the agency
and not an UN
staff member,
the agency
concluded it
was not a
position to
conduct an
investigation
into the
alleged
actions of
that person
itself.
All of the
agencies
private
contractors
are aware of
the high
standard of
conduct the
agency accepts
from their
staff and the
agency gave
Ms. Nobert the
contact
details of the
employer of
the person
accused of
attacking her,
so that she
could take her
complaint
directly to
the
company.
The agency
also
instructed the
company to
remove the
individual
immediately
from any
project
involving the
agency.
However, given
the highly
sensitive
nature of the
allegations,
the agency had
to respect
both the need
for Ms. Nobert
to raise her
very serious
complaint with
those who can
take actions
and the rights
of the accused
person for due
process.
It therefore
did not share
the specific
nature of the
complaint with
the
contractor,
allowing Ms.
Nobert to
decide on how
and when she
wanted to do
that.
The agency
concerned
believes that
in this
complex
circumstance
it did the
best it could
to support Ms.
Nobert, to
take her
complaint
forward.
I think it's
clear that, in
any of these
cases, we also
need to take a
look how we
responded and
how we can do
better in
responding to
horrendous
cases like
this one.
Question:
Thus seems to
imply…
obviously,
Life for
Construction,
they have
already
terminated the
individual, so
there is no
more
relationship
between them.
So is there…
what is the UN
saying is the
accountability
mechanism for
this alleged
rape?
And, two, you
keep saying
the agency.
Was the agency
in charge of
boring water
holes in the
Bentiu
camp?
Was it UNICEF
(United
Nations
Children’s
Fund), was it
IOM
(International
Organization
for
Migration)?
Which agency
are you
speaking of?
Spokesman:
As the article
makes clear,
Ms. Nobert
specifically
requested the
agencies she
had contacts
with shall not
be named and
we will
respect her
wishes.
Question:
Who is in
charge of
boring the
water holes?
Spokesman:
That is what I
have to share
with you and,
if I have,
more I will
share with
you.
, 
