The Daily Telegraph: UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/03/wsudan03.xml

UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan

By Kate Holt and Sarah Hughes in Juba
Last Updated: 2:11am GMT 03/01/2007

Members of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Sudan are facing allegations of raping and abusing children as young as 12, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The abuse allegedly began two years ago when the UN mission in southern Sudan (UNMIS) moved in to help rebuild the region after a 23-year civil war.

The UN has up to 10,000 military personnel in the region, of all nationalities and the allegations involve peacekeepers, military police and civilian staff.

The first indications of sexual exploitation emerged within months of the UN force's arrival and The Daily Telegraph has seen a draft of an internal report compiled by the UN children's agency Unicef in July 2005 detailing the problem.

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[saigon68]

1. They were going to send a few clerics

But decided the peacekeeping forces were safer

[Kagemusha]

2. I wonder why use the term "staff"...

I'd assumed it was the peacekeeper rape stories again but, staff to me, implies civilians, not professional soldiers on loan to the UN and paid by their home countries...

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. "the allegations involve peacekeepers, military police and civilian staff"

So 'staff' covers them all. It seems a reasonable choice of word for a headline.

[ellisonz]

4. I'm not going to question this, but rather emphasize the context:

We almost certainly are not talking about Americans committing these acts. In all likelihood we're looking at 5-10 soldiers, most likely Bangladeshi or other "Third World" contingents. The sad fact of the matter is that most UN peacekeeping forces are "Third World" troops are poorly equipped and trained, and likely not vetted by their home country. There very well may be a Westerner or two complicit in these acts. But this does not sound like organized prostitution ala Kosovo, but rather isolated incidents, that although regrettable are somewhat inevitable.

Sad, but true...

[Kagemusha]

5. I'll agree solely based on the history of prior incidents

I haven't hit 30 and I'm way too old to think just because someone works at the UN, they're pure as snow morally...