Sri Lanka: Peacekeepers to be returned after prostitute claims
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Monday, 05 November 2007 |
The United Nations ordered 108 Sri Lankan soldiers serving as peacekeepers in Haiti to return home on Saturday after a preliminary investigation found they paid for prostitutes, including some who might be underage.
Sri Lanka also decided to repatriate the battalion's second in command and two company commanders, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said on Friday.
She said the UN Mission in Haiti requested an immediate investigation after receiving "allegations of incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse by members" of the Sri Lankan battalion. Based on a preliminary report by the UN's internal watchdog, 108 of the 950 Sri Lankan soldiers will be repatriated on disciplinary grounds for apparently engaging prostitutes, she said.
"There is a question of some underage girls," she added.
The revelations mark another blow for UN peacekeeping, which has faced similar allegations elsewhere.
In 2004, peacekeepers in Congo were accused of sexually exploiting girls as young as 13, embarrassing the world body at a time when key member states were pressing for reforms. Abuses also have been reported in peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia and East Timor.
The United Nations has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and a strict code of conduct that has been agreed to by all countries contributing to the missions. More than 100,000 personnel are currently serving in 18 peacekeeping missions around the world, and new missions in Sudan and Chad will be starting shortly.
The code of conduct prevents UN personnel from soliciting prostitutes, even if prostitution is legal in a country, and it sets the age of consensual sex at 18.
The UN force - now made up of more than 7,000 soldiers, officers and police - was sent to Haiti amid chaos following the 2004 ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and has brought a significant degree of stability to the country.
Montas said the UN and the Sri Lankan government "deeply regret any sexual exploitation and abuse that has occurred, despite their efforts to ensure the highest standards of conduct and discipline."
Sri Lanka sent investigators from Colombo, including a female investigative officer. Prosecutions in Sri Lanka are planned, and both the UN mission in Haiti and Sri Lankan officials are discussing how to help the victims, she said.
A major problem in past cases of sexual exploitation by UN peacekeepers has been that soldiers are sent home but left unpunished. UN officials expressed satisfaction that Sri Lanka sent its own investigators and plans to prosecute, and said the UN will be tracking what happens next.
China Daily
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