UNITED NATIONS — In the latest allegation of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, a United Nations
police officer is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in the capital,
Bangui, during a nighttime house-to-house search, according to Amnesty International.
The
allegation came to light on Tuesday, when Amnesty International issued a
public statement. The United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric,
confirmed it later in the day, adding that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was “personally dismayed” by the charges.
The
United Nations mission staff in Bangui was informed of the allegations
last week, when Amnesty researchers interviewed the child and her family
and met with officials at the mission.
The
episode is said to have occurred Aug. 2 during a clash between armed
men and peacekeepers who were searching for a criminal suspect. The
mission is investigating the operation, in which one peacekeeper was
killed and nine others injured, said Hamadoun Touré, a spokesman for the
United Nations in Bangui. As for the rape allegation, Mr. Touré said no
suspect had been identified and, therefore, no one had been arrested or
suspended.
The
Central African Republic, one of the most fragile nations in the world,
erupted in ethnic conflict in 2013. The United Nations mission there
has been dogged by repeated allegations of sexual abuse in recent
months. French soldiers who had been sent to protect civilians when the
conflict first broke out were accused of sexually abusing boys in Bangui
over a six-month period starting in December, 2013, allegedly offering
them food in exchange for oral sex. France has said it is investigating,
but has yet to prosecute anyone. Troops from Chad and Equatorial
Guinea, representing the African Union, were also accused of sexually
abusing children, and the United Nations was in turn accused of
mishandling its inquiry into the charges.
Then,
earlier this year, United Nations peacekeepers from Burundi and Morocco
were accused of sexual abuse. Both countries have told United Nations
officials that they are investigating the conduct of their soldiers.
The
latest allegations involve police officers from Cameroon and Rwanda.
During the operation, a 12-year-old girl who had been hiding in the
bathroom of her house told an Amnesty researcher that a United Nations
peacekeeper pulled her out, slapped her and tore off her clothes. “He
threw me to the ground and lay down on top of me,” she told the Amnesty
researcher, according to the statement issued by the group on Tuesday.
“Whilst
raping her, gunfire erupted outside and he fled the compound to rejoin
the larger group of peacekeeping troops,” the Amnesty statement
continued.
A nurse who examined the child “found medical evidence consistent with sexual assault,” the statement said.
Joanne
Mariner, a senior crisis adviser with Amnesty, said that the child had
yet to receive health or counseling services from the United Nations.
(Mr. Touré said he did not know whether she had.)
The
Amnesty statement also accused the peacekeepers of indiscriminately
firing at civilians in the area, killing a 16-year-old boy and his
father.
The
rape suspect, if he is identified by United Nations investigators, can
in principle be tried by the authorities in the Central African
Republic, but only if a court in that country makes such a request and
the police officer’s home country gives its consent. It is common
practice for peacekeepers to be repatriated to their home countries for
potential prosecution. They do not enjoy immunity for criminal acts
while serving as peacekeepers. Rape clearly falls into the category of a
prosecutable offense.
Mr.
Ban has repeatedly called for “zero tolerance” of sexual abuse in
peacekeeping missions. He appointed an independent panel to review how
the United Nations handled its inquiry into the allegations of abuse by
French soldiers. The panel, led by a former justice of Canada’s Supreme
Court, Marie Deschamps, is expected to deliver its findings this year.
A version of this article appears in print on August 12, 2015, on page A8 of the New York edition w
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