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UN officials at Dominican meeting say peacekeeping commanders must eliminate sex abuse |
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International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press (AP)
Increasing the number of qualified male trainers in gender training for security personnel is one of the key conclusions of an online expert-group discussion hosted by the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW) and its partners in Santo Domingo.
United Nations officials on Tuesday called on peacekeeping commanders to eliminate sexual abuse and exploitation by U.N. personnel and also effectively counter all violence against women and children in the conflict zones.
The U.N. officials made the comments in Santo Domingo at a three-day conference that is part of an effort by the world body to eliminate sexual misconduct in its global operations.
More than 300 members of U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world have been investigated for sexual exploitation and abuse over the past three years — from Kosovo to Congo, Cambodia and Haiti, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jane Holl Lute said in January.
Some 18 civilians were summarily dismissed and 17 international police and 144 military personnel repatriated, she said.
Washington-based Refugees International has condemned the world body for allowing, "a culture that tolerates sexual exploitation and abuse and a tradition of silence."
The misconduct hinders the ability of U.N. forces to stop the sexual violence they encounter in far-flung global missions, from children being sold into slavery to rape used as a weapon of intimidation, officials said at the Dominican meeting.
The conference included representatives from Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa, as well as staff from U.N. headquarters in New York.
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