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          Security Council Backs Move to Combat Peacekeeper Sex Abuse

   by Margaret Besheer

   The U.N. Security Council on Friday endorsed a call from the
   secretary-general to repatriate peacekeepers who sexually abuse or
   exploit the people they are sent to protect.

   The council adopted the U.S.-drafted resolution 14-0, with one
   abstention.

   The resolution "makes clear" that it's the council's job "to ensure
   there is accountability when men, women and children are abused by the
   blue helmets this council sends to protect them," U.S. Ambassador
   Samantha Power said, using the U.N. nickname for peacekeepers, who are
   known for their blue headgear.

   In a rare occurrence, a council member submitted an amendment to the
   resolution just ahead of the vote. The Egyptian amendment would have
   weakened accountability measures for accused perpetrators, and the
   council rejected it in a separate vote.

   The new resolution supports Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to
   repatriate entire police or military units where there is credible
   evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation or abuse.

   It also requests that the U.N. chief replace units when the nation they
   come from does not investigate allegations, does not inform the U.N. of
   the progress of its investigations, or fails to hold its nationals
   accountable for criminal misconduct in peacekeeping missions.

   'Acting decisively'

   "This is not about collective punishment, nor about penalizing the many
   for the sick acts of the few," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.
   "This is about taking serious action in the face of serious
   allegations, about acting decisively against any pattern of abuse in
   any part of the world."

   In 2015, there were 69 allegations of sexual abuse or exploitation made
   against U.N. peacekeepers. The U.N. mission in the Central African
   Republic, MINUSCA, was the subject of the most allegations -- 22 last
   year, and already several more this year.

   Ban called this week for "decisive and bold action" to curb the
   problem, which has persisted in the U.N. ranks for decades.

   He warned that such allegations undermine the trust between the United
   Nations and the people it serves and tarnishes the credibility of
   peacekeeping operations and the United Nations as a whole.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/security-council-backs-move-combat-pe
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/security-council-backs-move-combat-peacekeeper-sex-abuse/3232535.html