Fresh sex abuse allegations against French and UN soldiers in CAR

The United Nations has launched investigations to determine the truth in alleged cases of sexual violence committed by French and UN soldiers in the Central African Republic.

The UN has informed French authorities about alleged acts by French soldiers forcing girls to have sex with animals in exchange for money.

Officials of three other countries cited have been informed.

The allegations date from 2013 to 2015. The UN has recommended that the soldiers should be confined to barracks unless they are on active duty.

The UN says they have not taken any decisions yet because they are working to know the scale of what they are dealing with.

“There is a very large number of allegations against international forces. That includes Minusca, Misca, and (the French force) Sangaris too. We are trying to talk to victims to try to establish exactly what has happened, to get a sense of the scale of what we are dealing with here, the needs, and what the next steps need to be,” Diane Corner, special deputy representative of the UN in the Central African Republic said.

“But I can tell you that, certainly, very tough measures will be considered and may well be taken. Particularly in the light of the Security Council resolution two weeks ago which really gave a very strong steer about the importance of the UN taking very firm action against contingents which repeatedly fail to live up to the standards that are expected of peacekeepers,” Corner added.

About 25 cases of sexual exploitation have been reported to the UN since the beginning of the year.

Earlier this month the UN Security Council adopted a proposal by the United Nations which calls for the repatriation of forces cited in sexual abuse cases.

AFP