The United Nations is currently investigating up to 108 sexual abuse cases allegedly perpetrated by international peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) with the vast majority of victims being children.
According to reports, three girls in CAR told a UN staff that they were tied up and forced to have sex with a dog by a French military commander in 2014. Another report claims the three girls told a human rights officer that they and a fourth girl were tied up and undressed inside a camp by a military commander from the Sangaris force. The girls were allegedly forced to have sex with a dog and then were given the equivalent of around nine dollars.
Speaking on the allegations, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated yesterday that he was shocked to the core and promised exemplary disciplinary action if the claims are proven true. France’s UN Ambassador Francois Delattre also expressed his disgust at the allegations , calling them ‘sickening and odious’.
The accusations, which are dated from 2013 through last year, were first announced by the group AIDS-Free World late on Wednesday. Stephane Dujarric told reporters the UN can’t confirm the allegations involving the dog at this point, but investigations continue. According to AIDS-Free World, 98 girls in CAR were reportedly being sexually abused between 2013 and 2015 by perpetrators who have left the country.
UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, revealed in a statement on the sexual abuse that the three countries whose peacekeepers are accused are Burundi, Gabon and France and they have all been formally notified.
A Congolese peace keeper was reported to have raped a 16-year-old girl only three days ago in a hotel room. The peace keeper has since been turned over to the United Nations.
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