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Jamiepring

Joined 27 September 2013

Outline

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Wikipedia Project - WAR RAPE

Jamie PRING section: Rape in contemporary peacekeeping missions (rape mainly by UN peacekeepers, but could also touch on NGOs working in the field):

This topic aims to add a section on rape committed by peacekeepers within the War Rape Wikipedia article, under the "Recent Occurrences" section. While existing sections on recent war rape occurrences, the sections on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur for example, discuss rape committed by civilians and inhabitants of the country, this proposed section hopes to elaborate on rape committed by United Nations Peacekeepers in recent conflicts.

This section builds on and incorporates the brief overview about the 2011 incident in Haiti (already existing under "Recent Occurrences") and broaden the discussion to include cases in other UN peacekeeping missions, motivations for sexual exploitation, and measures for accountability (or the lack of it) for the personnel involved as well as the sending country or affiliated organisation.

Final article

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Rape in contemporary peace operations by UN peacekeepers

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In contemporary conflict zones, international organizations, particularly the United Nations peacekeepers, have been involved in maintaining peace and stability in the area as well as distribute humanitarian aid to the local population. At present there are 16 Peace Operations directed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The peacekeepers are mainly composed of military personnel (but to a less number also the police) sent by governments of various member-states.[1] However, over the course of their involvement in the field, peacekeepers have also been accused and at times found guilty of committing rape and other forms of sexual violence to the local population, in particular to women and children. Among all international staff in the conflict zone, United Nations peacekeepers (handled by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations) have been most frequently identified as the perpetrators of rape. [2]

Motivations for rape and sexual abuse by peacekeepers

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Like traditional military ventures, peacekeepers are deployed in highly unstable areas similar to war zones, where there is absence of the rule of law, disintegration of society and great psychological and economic hardships. [3] Having an image of wealth and authority, peacekeepers can easily exercise power over the local population, which is often abused.[4]

Moreover, as members of their respective country’s militaries, peacekeepers also carry with them in the peace operations the “hyper-masculine culture” that encourages sexual exploitation and abuse.[5] This claim is supported by the fact that most of the peacekeepers are male. As of November 2003, while there are 81,181 male peacekeeping soldiers, there are only 2,322 female peacekeeping troops; on the other hand, while there are 11,644 male police, only female police are only 1, 273.[6]The motivations for rape differ from the traditional perpetrators (government and rebel forces) in that rape is not part of a war strategy that contributes to fulfilling the organization’s mission, but rather more as means to relieve the perpetrators’ sexual urges most often related to the military culture.[7]Apart from putting the victim under the threat of physical violence, perpetrators induce sexual acts from the victim through payment, and granting or denying humanitarian aid.[8]

Cases of rape and sexual abuse in peace operations

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UN peacekeepers’ involvement in rape was found as early as in 1993 during the Bosnian Genocide, where peacekeepers were found to regularly visit a Serb-run brothel in Sarajevo that housed Bosniak and Croat women who were forced to become prostitutes.[9] In recent years, several UN soldiers in Haiti have been accused and convicted of raping boys as young as 14-years-old. In one instance, BBC NEWS reports that Uruguayan soldiers raped a young man. In another instance, Pakistani UN soldiers were recently convicted of raping a 14-year-old Haitian boy, sparking protest for the end of UN peace-keeping forces. In Congo in 2004, peacekeepers from Pakistan, Uruguay, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Nepal have faced 68 cases of rape, prostitution and pedophilia. The investigation resulted in 6 Nepalese troops jailed.[10] An internal UN report in 2005 found that in Liberia, UN peacekeepers were seen frequenting a club where girls as young as 12 years have been forced into prostitution and sex acts, which have been photographed by peacekeepers in exchange for aid.[11] In Sudan, the Egyptian contingent was accused of raping six women when the civilians took shelter at the peacekeepers’ headquarters to flee from the fighting.[12] Allegations of rape of young women and children have also been launched against UN peacekeepers in South Sudan.[13][14] In Mali, four UN peacekeepers from Chad have been involved in raping a woman this September.[15] In Mali, four UN peacekeepers from Chad have been involved in raping a woman this September.[15] Members of the Moroccan contingent faced rape during the course of their duty in the UN mission in Ivory Coast.[16] Also in these places and especially in Haiti, Ivory Coast and Southern Sudan, NGO workers have also been found to be involved in raping women and children.[17]

Punitive measures

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The most common challenge in reprimanding perpetrators is the significant underreporting of the issue mainly due to three reasons. First, the victims do not report or file complaints due to fears of revenge from the offender(s), denial of aid and the social stigma against rape victims in the victims’ own community. [18]Second, UN higher officials previously dismissed such allegations as “boys will be boys”.[19]Third, fellow peacekeepers are accustomed to the “wall of silence” in the spirit of brotherhood characteristic of military culture but also to protect the reputation of their sending government.[20]As a consequence, whistleblowers are often stigmatised.[21]

However, if there would indeed be reports, the UN instituted the Conduct and Discipline Teams (CDTs) to conduct an investigation referring the allegations for serious offense to the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).[22]When found guilty, the course of the specific disciplinary action is dependent on the employee status of the offender. UN civilian staff and personnel have functional immunity that can only be waived by the UN Secretary-General. In the case of military personnel, they are subject to the jurisdiction of their respective sending governments. [23]The usual practice for offending soldiers has been to repatriate the personnel and prosecute her / him in his/her home country. In several cases, punitive measures are imposed such as demotion or dishonorable dismissal. However, very few among guilty personnel have faced criminal charges in their home countries after repatriation.[24]

References

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  1. ^ “Current Peacekeeping Operations. United Nations Peacekeeping.” Accessed December 18, 2013. https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/current.shtml
  2. ^ Defeis, Elizabeth. “U.N. Peacekeepers and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: An End to Impunity” 7, no. 2 (2008): 185–212.
  3. ^ Anna Shotton, A Strategy to Address Sexual Exploitation by U.N. Peacekeeping Personnel, 39 CORNELL L. REV. 97, 103 (2006).
  4. ^ Defeis, 2008, p.191.
  5. ^ Sarah Martin, Refugees Int’l,Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation & Abuse In Un Peacekeeping Missions. (2005), http://www.refugeesinternational.org/files/6976_file_FINAL_MustBoys.pdf.
  6. ^ Gender Statistics. United Nations Peacekeeping.” Accessed December 18, 2013. https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/gender.shtml.
  7. ^ “UN Peacekeepers and Cultures of Violence | Cultural Survival,” December 9, 2010. http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/bosnia-and-herzegovina/un-peacekeepers-and-cultures-violenc.
  8. ^ Novick, Natalie. “When Those Meant to Keep the Peace Commit Sexualized Violence | Women Under Siege Project.” Accessed December 18, 2013.
  9. ^ "UN peacekeepers took part in rapes during Bosnian Genocide | We Remember the Bosnian Genocide, 1992-95. Mi se Sjećamo Genocida u Bosni, 1992-95". Bosniagenocide.wordpress.com. 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  10. ^ "U.N. Sexual Abuse Alleged in Congo". washingtonpost.com. 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  11. ^ "U.N. Faces More Accusations of Sexual Misconduct". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  12. ^ "SUDAN: With UN Peacekeepers Accused of Rape in Sudan, UN Women & Ban Ki-Moon Adviser Won't Answer, Other Priorities - News Library - News & Events". PeaceWomen. 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  13. ^ "Rape Allegations Faced by U.N. In South Sudan - The New York Sun". Nysun.com. 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  14. ^ "The Daily Telegraph: UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan". Democratic Underground. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  15. ^ a b "UN's Minusma peacekeepers 'raped woman in Mali' | Africatime". En.africatime.com. 2013-11-24. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  16. ^ Monday, July 23, 2007 (2007-07-23). "Another U.N. Peacekeeper Rape Scandal". Outsidethebeltway.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "No One to Turn To: The under-reporting of child sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers | Save the Children UK". Savethechildren.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  18. ^ “BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Peacekeepers ‘Abusing Children,’” May 27, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/7420798.stm.
  19. ^ Profile: Bureaucrat at Large in the Balkans; Yasushi Akashi, Almost Painfully Diplomatic U.N. Envoy, The Independent, Apr. 30, 1994
  20. ^ Joan M. Dawson, Opinion, UN-believable: Sexual Misconduct by U.N. Peacekeepers (2006), available at http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:DS8SVzkECNAJ:english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp%3Fat_code%3D382507+OhMyNews+UN+peac ekeeping+2006&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us.
  21. ^ Dominic Hipkins, Bosnia Sex Trade Shames UN, SCOT. ON SUN., Feb. 9, 2003, available at http://www.scotsman.com/world/Bosnia-sex-trade-shames-UN.2400797.jp.
  22. ^ Secretary-General, Comprehensive Report Prepared Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 59/296 on Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Including Policy Development, Implementation and Full Justification of Proposed Capacity on Personnel Conduct Issues, 14,delivered to the General Assembly, U.N. Doc. A/60/862 (May 24, 2006)
  23. ^ Defeis, 2008, p.192.
  24. ^ Survival Sex’: How NGOs and Peacekeepers Exploit Women in War | Women Under Siege Project.” Accessed December 18, 2013. http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/Survival-sex-how-NGOs-and-peacekeepers-exploit-women-in-war.
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