100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti sent home after being accused of sexual exploitation

Home / Blogs / Stephen LaFrenie's blog /
By Stephen LaFrenie on 4 November 2007 - 1:56pm

http://tinyurl.com/39uhpl
The United Nations will remove more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti after they were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse, said reports.

Of Sri Lanka's 950 soldiers in the impoverished Caribbean nation, 108 have been accused of paying for sex with Haitian prostitutes, including underaged girls, said Reuters and the BBC.

UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York Friday the peacekeepers would be sent home Saturday. "The United Nations and the Sri Lankan government deeply regret any sexual exploitation and abuse that has occurred," Montas said.

He added that the government of Sri Lanka plans to take further action against the soldiers. "They are back under national jurisdiction. So far Sri Lanka has said … that they are going to be prosecuted in Sri Lanka."
The United Nations will remove more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti after they were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse, said reports.

Of Sri Lanka's 950 soldiers in the impoverished Caribbean nation, 108 have been accused of paying for sex with Haitian prostitutes, including underaged girls, said Reuters and the BBC. UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York Friday the peacekeepers would be sent home Saturday.

"The United Nations and the Sri Lankan government deeply regret any sexual exploitation and abuse that has occurred," Montas said. He added that the government of Sri Lanka plans to take further action against the soldiers.

"They are back under national jurisdiction. So far Sri Lanka has said … that they are going to be prosecuted in Sri Lanka." The UN has a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual abuse within its peacekeeping missions.

Over the past few years, UN peacekeepers in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been accused of sexual exploitation.

Comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Sexual exploitation not limited to UN soldiers

Submitted by Stephen LaFrenie on 4 November 2007 - 2:40pm.

The UN needs to do a lot more to curb and punish sexual predators among peace keeping troops. This is a sadly familiar story. Rape and sexual exploitation are insidious, horrific tools of war and are now considered serious war crimes. But how many peace keepers are charged and brought to justice?

"Rape is a serious war crime like any other," said Regan Ralph, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. "That's always been true on paper, but now international courts are finally acting on it." 1998 response to genocide charges in Rwanda. source - http://tinyurl.com/3yykc4

"U.N. Court, for First Time, Defines Rape as War Crime
By MARLISE SIMONS
Published: June 28, 1996
A United Nations tribunal announced today the indictment of eight Bosnian Serb military and police officers in connection with rapes of Muslim women in the Bosnian war, marking the first time sexual assault has been treated separately as a crime of war. The indictments were announced by the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague after almost two years of investigations. Court officials said that although rape charges had been included in other cases, this indictment gave organized rape and other sexual offenses their due place in international law as crimes against humanity." source - http://tinyurl.com/39b5cy

Peace keepers who are presented to the population as 'saviours' and 'protectors' rather than enemy soldiers should not be exempt from war crimes in my opinion. Returning soldiers to their home countries does not always provide for justice. There should be a pursuit of justice through the Haitian justice system (in this case) or through the International Court of Justice as a war crime.

Was this the act of a particular nasty inhumane soldier? NO. 108 soldiers sent home is not a random act. Was it an organized assault? I am inclined to say yes. Do we really believe none of these soldiers shared their stories or communicated where they could find victims? How many violations were committed by a group of soldiers on the same victim? Since the UN appears to be satisfied that sending them home to face whatever justice they will in their home nations we will likely never know the details. That is equally a miscarriage of justice.

Are soldiers the only ones? No. When I was in Haiti in May one of our senior group volunteers talked with a young woman who offered sex which was declined. She regularly slept with foreign aid workers from various countries for $10.00 US. If the man didn't want to use a condom she charged him an extra $5.00. When asked if she was afraid of contracting HIV she replied, "...when your stomach is empty you don't think about AIDS."

This blog reflects my personal opinion.
It is not official Green Party Policy.

Nominated Candidate/Trinity-Spadina, Toronto
www.trinityspadinagreens.ca
http://stephenlafrenie.blogspot.com
www.twawareness.org

This blog reflects my personal opinion. It is not official Green Party Policy. Nominated candidate for Trinity-Spadina, Toronto Internation Cooperation/CIDA portfolio shadow cabinet www.trinityspadinagreens.ca www.twawareness.org