http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/in...19nations.html
October 19, 2005
Report Finds U.N. Isn't Moving to End Sex Abuse by Peacekeepers
By WARREN HOGE
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 18 - The United Nations has developed procedures to curb sexual abuse by peacekeepers, but the measures are not being put into force because of a deep-seated culture of tolerating sexual exploitation, an independent review reported Tuesday.
"A 'boys will be boys' attitude in peacekeeping missions breeds tolerance for exploiting and abusing local women," said the report, by Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group. "This attitude is slowly changing, but the U.N. must go beyond strong rhetoric and ensure that the resources needed to change this culture are available."
The 32-page document provided an update on an attention-getting report in March by Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations. His report was prompted by evidence that peacekeepers and civilian staff members had had sex with women and girls in Congo in exchange for food and money, and in some cases had committed rape.
Prince Zeid, a former military officer and civilian peacekeeper in Bosnia, said in a briefing on Tuesday that even though his report had addressed a situation that undermined the credibility of the United Nations, influential member states greeted it with "utter silence."
"The entire responsibility for this mess is with the member states," he said, adding that meetings he had scheduled after his report was published were only sparsely attended.
Sarah Martin, the author of the new report, said she had visited peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Liberia and had found that a "wall of silence" kept sexual abuse cases from being investigated. Rapes were often belittled as simple acts of prostitution. "They'd say, 'Why should we ruin someone's otherwise illustrious career over an act with a prostitute,' " she said in the briefing.
She said Liberians had complained to her about some peacekeepers' conduct with the comment, "This behavior would not be accepted in the home country of these soldiers; why are these soldiers playing around with our children?"
Ms. Martin said guidelines adopted at headquarters were not being taken seriously in the field, adding: "Until there is a better understanding of the zero-contact rule, peacekeepers will continue to think of it as a rule that makes no sense. Fear of punishment is not enough to ensure compliance."
Among the changes called for were empowering local women, conducting public information campaigns to combat the "masculine culture that has developed," giving more importance to the so-called gender advisers who are now required on missions, giving victims access to the United Nations complaint system and guaranteeing that complainants are protected.
As of September, only 10 of the 17 peacekeeping missions had a fulltime gender advisory position, the report said. According to United Nations figures, the 17 missions involve 80,000 people.
Anna Shotton of the United Nations peacekeeping department said that while "tremendous progress has been made over the past year to drive home the U.N.'s message of zero tolerance and zero impunity," the message had still not taken hold.
She said that over the past 20 months, investigations had been completed on 221 accused peacekeepers, resulting in the firing of 10 civilian employees and the repatriation of 88 military men, including 6 commanders.
Asked how that compared with previous periods, she said, "You had the occasional repatriation of uniformed personnel, but it was very rare."
-Rudey
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