Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                   Foreign Troops in CAR Accused of Sex Abuse

   by Fern Robinson

   The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday he is
   "extremely alarmed' about the allegations that continue to surface in
   the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) about the sexual exploitation and
   abuse of minors by members of foreign military forces.
   Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement most of the alleged crimes
   took place in 2014, "but only came to light in recent weeks."

   A joint U.N. team in the C.A.R. recently interviewed four girls who
   said they had been sexually assaulted and exploited by foreign
   soldiers.

   Victims speak

   Two said they were raped by soldiers with the European Union operation,
   or EUFOR, while two other girls said they were paid to have sex with
   other EUFOR soldiers. The nationalities of the soldiers were not clear,
   but three of the four girls believed their abusers were members of the
   Georgian EUFOR contingent.

   ''At the time of the abuse, the girls were between the ages of 14 and
   16.

   The U.N. human rights staff also interviewed a young girl and a young
   boy abused in 2014 when the girl was seven and the boy was nine. The
   girl said she performed oral sex on French soldiers in exchange for a
   bottle of water and some cookies. The two children told the U.N. staff
   other children were similarly abused by French soldiers.

   All six cases involved non-U.N. foreign military forces, the statement
   said.

   Exploitation, abuse investigated
   High Commissioner Zeid said he has notified the European, Georgian and
   French authorities about the cases. He said he was "heartened" by their
   prompt responses and that they have already launched investigations.

   Sexual abuse allegations have been a recurring problem for the U.N.
   mission in CAR. Earlier this month, allegations of sexual abuse of
   minors by U.N. peacekeepers emerged. At that time, those allegations
   brought the number of sexual abuse cases involving peacekeepers and
   international troops in CAR to 26.

   Last year, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon fired the head of the
   12,000 Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central
   African Republic (MINUSCA) force over the mounting number of cases.

   An independent panel last month described the U.N.'s delayed reaction
   to investigating and prosecuting its peacekeepers as a "gross
   institutional failure."
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/sexual-abuse-allegations-against-inte
   rnational-troops-emerge-in-car/3168034.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/sexual-abuse-allegations-against-international-troops-emerge-in-car/3168034.html