New York – United Nations said it had received new allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation against UN peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.
The UN Spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said on Tuesday that there have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in Central African Republic, where the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSCA, assumed authority from AU troops in September 2014.
He said Burundian peacekeepers had been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl earlier this month, while a Moroccan soldier had been accused of engaging in an exploitative sexual relationship with a woman in February.
Dujarric said Morocco and Burundi had been notified of the allegations.
“Once notified, a state has 10 days to tell the UN if it intends to investigate the accusations. If it does not, the world body will conduct its own inquiry.
“The Moroccans so far have indicated that they will investigate,”he said.
Meanwhile, a UN peacekeeping spokesman said Burundi had until the end of the week to report back on whether it could conduct an inquiry.
He said the UN pledged to crack down on allegations of abuse to avoid a repeat of past mistakes.
“Babacar Gaye, former head of the UN mission in Central African Republic, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month.
The spokesman said that the UN reported 99 allegations of sexual exploitation or sexual abuse involving its staff members across the UN system last year.
He said this was a sharp increase from the 80 allegations in 2014, as over 69 cases involved the personnel in 10 peacekeeping missions. (Reuters/NAN)