Sexual allegations by peacekeepers on the rise - UN report

Sexual allegations in 10 missions in Africa by United Nations peacekeepers has risen by 32 per cent, according to a new report.

The report published by the UN indicates that in 2015, 69 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were reported compared to 52 in 2014.

Of the allegations recorded in 2015, 38 were from two peacekeeping missions. These are the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The rest came from eight other peacekeeping missions.

Furthermore, 22 claims have been reported to have occurred from the UN mission in the Central African Republic.

16 were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and nine in Haiti.

Sexual abuse by peacekeepers have been rife over the years and the UN has been under immense pressure to tackle such allegations swiftly.

With this in hand, the UN is now calling for on-site court-martials and DNA testing to identify the abusers.

With over 100,000 peacekeepers serving around the world, the report said that military personnel, international police, UN staff were involved in the latest allegations.

“This regrettable increase in the number of new allegations signifies that more needs to be done to reduce the number of allegations and, more importantly, the number of victims affected by sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by United Nations personnel,” said the UN in the report.