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In
CAR, Zeid
Blames Rapes
& Cover Up
Only on
States,
Ladsous Absent
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 4 --
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 French
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous asked
to fire the
whistleblower
in March of
this year.
Babacar
Gaye but not
Ladsous was
fired by UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon; Inner
City Press
obtained and
put Gaye's
letter online
here (credited
here and here)
citing
systemic
problems.
Early
on September 3
yet another
French
"peacekeeper"
rape was
announced --
but not by the
UN
Peacekeeping
mission or
Ladsous, in
the country,
but rather by
UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Prince
Zeid, see
below.
So at
the September
3 UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press put a
series of
questions to
UN Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
video here,
transcript
here and
below.
On
September 4 in
Bangui, with
Ladsous still
absent, Zeid
devoted 323
words to
"peacekeeper"
sexual abuse -
but not one of
them was
whistleblower,
or
retaliation,
or even about
the Panel
which has now
delayed its
work another
seven weeks,
past the UN
General
Assembly week
of UN Member
States.
Zeid's
pitch was to
blame
everything ON
the Member
States:
"I announced
yesterday that
yet another
alleged case
of sexual
abuse or
exploitation
by a foreign
soldier has
emerged. While
in this
particular
case the
perpetrator is
alleged to be
a solder
serving with
the Sangaris,
who operate
separately
from the UN
forces here in
CAR, UN
soldiers have
also been
involved in a
series of
cases of
alleged sexual
and other
forms of
abuse. The
Secretary-General
has made his
shame and
disgust at
these crimes
clear, and I
would like to
add mine.
There is no
excuse, no
mitigating
circumstances,
nothing at all
to justify the
acts
themselves or
the failure to
apply
punishments
that fit the
crime.
"We simply
have to do
better. And
States must
help us. Over
the years many
proposals have
been made to
improve the
way we deal
with this
issue that so
often bedevils
peace-keeping
operations,
not least ways
to deter and
prevent these
appalling acts
against
defenseless
people we are
supposed to be
protecting. We
preach the
importance of
combating
impunity, yet
– in the case
of our own
soldiers -- we
more often
than not
totally fail
to do so.
Unfortunately,
the Member
States of the
United Nations
have
repeatedly
refused to
adopt proposed
measures to
radically
reduce the
occurrence of
sexual abuse
by
peacekeepers.
I believe it
is high time
to revisit
these ideas,
and to do so
as a matter of
urgency.
Earlier this
morning, I
discussed
these issues
at length with
the UN Force
Commander and
Deputy Police
Commander. The
new Special
Representative
of the
Secretary-General
is going to
join us in a
few minutes to
tell you more
about the
MINUSCA side
of this
problem, and I
will be happy
to elaborate
on some of the
measures that
have been
proposed in
the past to
try to
eradicate it,
but which have
been rejected
by the UN
Member States
or by
individual
troop-contributing
countries."
As to
OHCHR, and
Ladsous and
DPKO, this is
impunity.
* * *
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