United Nations forces are accused of sexually exploiting young women, including getting girls as young as ten pregnant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now the women and children have spoken about it for the first time.
The respected international force is tasked with protecting civilians and keeping the peace. However UN personnel are accused of exploiting and carrying out sexual violence against women and girls – including impregnatingThe abuse has led to a generation of “peacekeeper babies”, many of whom are now young adults themselves and grappling with a deep sense of shame and longing due to poverty, their mixed heritage and a lack of support from absent fathers.
Heather Tasker, a PhD candidate at York University in Canada who was also involved in the study, said the one of the most upsetting findings was the young age of the mothers. Children referred to the fathers as “white or black men, Europeans or foreigners”. The most commonly reported nations of origin were Tanzania and South Africa, followed by Morocco, Uruguay, Benin, Malawi, Sudan, Senegal, Guatemala, Bangladesh and Nepal,Of the women who indicated their age at conception, 50 per cent were under the age of eighteen and the youngest girl impregnated was 10, with several others becoming pregnant at 13 or 14.
While some women received help from groups like Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross, many were distrustful of the UN and were not confident reporting their situation would make a difference. Some women said they didn’t have enough evidence to make a claim while others feared the children could be taken away.
Both women and children were cut off from family resources, bullied or harassed and carried a sense of stigma and shame. One mother spoke of her son being beaten, insulted and called “motherf**k” leading him to feel “rejected and sad”. Another spoke of being called cursed or dumb for not having an abortion.
“Since I was born, I have never had the chance to learn anything about him apart from hearing that I have one. I really know nothing about him. I have never heard his voice, not even once,” the 13-year-old said. A UN spokesperson said: “We strongly condemn the behaviour of those who violate and undermine the values of the organisation by abusing and exploiting those who are looking to the United Nations for protection.”
“They must ensure that their uniformed personnel are selected and trained according to our standards. They must act quickly on credible allegations, have the required legislation and processes in place so perpetrators can be held to account and victims receive effective remedies, and they must facilitate paternity claims in their courts.”
Lawyers working on behalf of children fathered by peacekeepers in Haiti found that years after claims were made, the UN remained “non-responsive, non-cooperative and opaque.”the UN is failing in terms of its “obligation to facilitate paternity claims, ensure child support and comply with their own standards of transparency.”
An internal UN report substantiated the allegations and the man paid US$5,000 to the girl’s family. The employee lost his job and UK authorities were alerted, however the National Crime Agency did not mount a full investigation. “The UN and its member states must help children born of sexual exploitation and abuse to claim their rights,” she said. “In many cases this requires providing mothers the necessary support to pursue child maintenance claims in the peacekeeper’s home state, and ensuring these payments are enforced. This would demonstrate a genuine commitment to securing justice for these children and their mothers.
The UK contributes 3 military staff officers to MONUSCO and peacekeepers are trained on sexual exploitation and abuse before being deployed. It also provides training to thousands of African peacekeeping personnel on tackling sexual violence and abuse and has provided £800,000 to the UN Victim Trust Fund to support survivors of abuse and exploitation.
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