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UN peacekeepers banned from sex in congolese { February 11 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1478773,00.htmlhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1478773,00.html
February 11, 2005
UN peacekeepers banned from sex with Congolese
From James Bone in New York
THE United Nations has banned its peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo from having sex with local people but will keep handing out free condoms to its forces.
Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General, imposed the new "non-fraternisation" rules, including a night-time curfew at military bases, in response to reports of widespread sexual exploitation by UN troops of under-age girls.
In a letter to the Security Council, Mr Annan also sought 100 extra police and French-speaking investigators to root out the abuse. "I reiterate my stance that we cannot tolerate even one instance of a United Nations peacekeeper victimising the most vulnerable among us," he said.
The 13,000-strong mission, the largest in the world, has been plagued by sexual misconduct among peacekeepers and civilian officials working to restore peace to the war-torn African nation and help it to hold elections this year. The UN is investigating 150 cases of alleged abuse, ranging from rape and paedophilia to using prostitutes and bribing desperate under-age girls with eggs, milk and food for sex.
A Frenchman serving in Goma was sent home and jailed on paedophilia charges in October last year after he allegedly made pornographic tapes with a 12-year-old girl.
Three other civilian staff have been suspended, and a man who worked for the UN’s investigative arm in Kinshasa resigned after being accused of consorting with a prostitute. Peacekeepers from several contingents have been repatriated to their home countries. The Congolese Government welcomed the new rules, but said that the UN should arrange to compensate victims.
Despite the new sex ban the UN will continue to dole out free condoms to peacekeepers to help stem the spread of Aids. "Giving out condoms does not necessarily imply that it’s a nod and a wink to any unwanted practices, but we can’t prevent people from having consensual, non-commercial sex," Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman, said. "We are very aware of the HIV problem in the region and we take that into account as well."
He noted that peacekeepers and UN officials could still have sex with each other and "condoms could come in useful there".
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