"A panel of French judges has decided not to bring charges against soldiers accused of having sexually abused children while on a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, officials said on Friday....
"The lapse at the United Nations in promptly notifying the French led to an investigation by an independent panel that accused some of the organization’s officials of having passed the allegations 'from desk to desk, inbox to inbox' and having failed to meet their core mission to protect the rights of the most vulnerable civilians.
"The confidential report chronicled testimony by six children — ages 9 to 13 — who described abuse by the soldiers in a camp at Bangui M’Poko International Airport in the capital from December 2013 to June 2014. Four of the children said they had been abused by the soldiers, while two said they had witnessed the abuse....
"A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, said on Friday that the judges completed their review of the abuse allegations on Dec. 20. The decision to close the case, or bring it to trial, will be definitively made in less than four months, after the judges have received any additional information from groups representing the accusers and the prosecutor’s office."
"A senior United Nations aid worker has been suspended for disclosing to prosecutors an internal report on the sexual abuse of children by French peacekeeping troops in the Central African Republic.
"Sources close to the case said Anders Kompass passed the document to the French authorities because of the UN’s failure to take action to stop the abuse. The report documented the sexual exploitation of children as young as nine by French troops stationed in the country as part of international peacekeeping efforts.
"Kompass, who is based in Geneva, was suspended from his post as director of field operations last week and accused of leaking a confidential UN report and breaching protocols. He is under investigation by the UN office for internal oversight service (OIOS) amid warnings from a senior official that access to his case must be 'severely restricted'. He faces dismissal.
"The treatment of the aid worker, who has been involved in humanitarian work for more than 30 years, has taken place with the knowledge of senior UN officials, including Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights, and Susanna Malcorra, chef de cabinet in the UN, according to documents relating to the case....
"Entitled Sexual Abuse on Children by International Armed Forces and stamped 'confidential' on every page, the report details the rape and sodomy of starving and homeless young boys by French peacekeeping troops who were supposed to be protecting them at a centre for internally displaced people in Bangui, capital of the CAR.
"Donovan, the co-director of AIDS-Free World, said: 'The regular sex abuse by peacekeeping personnel uncovered here and the United Nations’ appalling disregard for victims are stomach-turning, but the awful truth is that this isn’t uncommon. The UN’s instinctive response to sexual violence in its ranks – ignore, deny, cover up, dissemble – must be subjected to a truly independent commission of inquiry with total access, top to bottom, and full subpoena power.'
"The UN has faced several scandals in the past relating to its failure to act over paedophile rings operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo and Bosnia. It has also faced allegations of sexual misconduct by its troops in Haiti, Burundi and Liberia....
"The boys, some of whom were orphans, disclosed sexual exploitation, including rape and sodomy, between December 2013 and June 2014 by French troops at a centre for internally displaced people at M’Poko airport in the capital Bangui.
"The children described how they were sexually exploited in return for food and money. One 11-year-old boy said he was abused when he went out looking for food. A nine-year-old described being sexually abused with his friend by two French soldiers at the IDP camp when they went to a checkpoint to look for something to eat.
"The child described how the soldiers forced him and his friend to carry out a sex act. The report describes how distressed the child was when disclosing the abuse and how he fled the camp in terror after the assault. Some of the children were able to give good descriptions of the soldiers involved."
Even though some of the children were able to give good descriptions of the soldiers, notice this paragraph from the New York Times article linked above:
"'There’s a whole problem about identifying people,' [Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre] said in a phone interview, noting that the case was particularly difficult because it was based solely on the children’s accounts, without independent evidence. 'Are these accusations clear, accurate, detailed, repeated? And, based on these accusations, have we identified who might be the perpetrators?'"
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zoltan907 ago
http://archive.is/PLtA0
"A panel of French judges has decided not to bring charges against soldiers accused of having sexually abused children while on a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, officials said on Friday....
"The lapse at the United Nations in promptly notifying the French led to an investigation by an independent panel that accused some of the organization’s officials of having passed the allegations 'from desk to desk, inbox to inbox' and having failed to meet their core mission to protect the rights of the most vulnerable civilians.
"The confidential report chronicled testimony by six children — ages 9 to 13 — who described abuse by the soldiers in a camp at Bangui M’Poko International Airport in the capital from December 2013 to June 2014. Four of the children said they had been abused by the soldiers, while two said they had witnessed the abuse....
"A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, said on Friday that the judges completed their review of the abuse allegations on Dec. 20. The decision to close the case, or bring it to trial, will be definitively made in less than four months, after the judges have received any additional information from groups representing the accusers and the prosecutor’s office."
http://archive.is/UOxnK
"A senior United Nations aid worker has been suspended for disclosing to prosecutors an internal report on the sexual abuse of children by French peacekeeping troops in the Central African Republic.
"Sources close to the case said Anders Kompass passed the document to the French authorities because of the UN’s failure to take action to stop the abuse. The report documented the sexual exploitation of children as young as nine by French troops stationed in the country as part of international peacekeeping efforts.
"Kompass, who is based in Geneva, was suspended from his post as director of field operations last week and accused of leaking a confidential UN report and breaching protocols. He is under investigation by the UN office for internal oversight service (OIOS) amid warnings from a senior official that access to his case must be 'severely restricted'. He faces dismissal.
"The treatment of the aid worker, who has been involved in humanitarian work for more than 30 years, has taken place with the knowledge of senior UN officials, including Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights, and Susanna Malcorra, chef de cabinet in the UN, according to documents relating to the case....
"Entitled Sexual Abuse on Children by International Armed Forces and stamped 'confidential' on every page, the report details the rape and sodomy of starving and homeless young boys by French peacekeeping troops who were supposed to be protecting them at a centre for internally displaced people in Bangui, capital of the CAR.
"Donovan, the co-director of AIDS-Free World, said: 'The regular sex abuse by peacekeeping personnel uncovered here and the United Nations’ appalling disregard for victims are stomach-turning, but the awful truth is that this isn’t uncommon. The UN’s instinctive response to sexual violence in its ranks – ignore, deny, cover up, dissemble – must be subjected to a truly independent commission of inquiry with total access, top to bottom, and full subpoena power.'
"The UN has faced several scandals in the past relating to its failure to act over paedophile rings operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo and Bosnia. It has also faced allegations of sexual misconduct by its troops in Haiti, Burundi and Liberia....
"The boys, some of whom were orphans, disclosed sexual exploitation, including rape and sodomy, between December 2013 and June 2014 by French troops at a centre for internally displaced people at M’Poko airport in the capital Bangui.
"The children described how they were sexually exploited in return for food and money. One 11-year-old boy said he was abused when he went out looking for food. A nine-year-old described being sexually abused with his friend by two French soldiers at the IDP camp when they went to a checkpoint to look for something to eat.
"The child described how the soldiers forced him and his friend to carry out a sex act. The report describes how distressed the child was when disclosing the abuse and how he fled the camp in terror after the assault. Some of the children were able to give good descriptions of the soldiers involved."
Even though some of the children were able to give good descriptions of the soldiers, notice this paragraph from the New York Times article linked above:
"'There’s a whole problem about identifying people,' [Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre] said in a phone interview, noting that the case was particularly difficult because it was based solely on the children’s accounts, without independent evidence. 'Are these accusations clear, accurate, detailed, repeated? And, based on these accusations, have we identified who might be the perpetrators?'"