UN under Annan embraces sexual abuse

[Strk]

Originally posted by: Genx87

The better troops are contributed to UN missions, the better the UN can do their job. So if you want to send US troops on UN mission to Congo, and then give the UN power to decide which US troops should be prosecuted for misbehavior, then you should say so.

What makes you think the US doesnt send troops on UN missions?

I could be wrong, but I believe he is only referring to the mission in the D.R. Congo.

 

[Genx87]

because if the ICC

That doesnt tell me why you think the US doesnt send troops on UN missions. Because they have sent troops on UN missions. Korea and GW1 were the biggest UN missions to date and the US supplied the largest contigent of troops.

 

[Czar]

Originally posted by: Genx87

because if the ICC

That doesnt tell me why you think the US doesnt send troops on UN missions. Because they have sent troops on UN missions. Korea and GW1 were the biggest UN missions to date and the US supplied the largest contigent of troops.

that was before the icc and the icc isnt retroactive, now we have the icc and the US gov has said that it will not go on another UN mission unless its troops be excempt from the icc

 

[Genx87]

that was before the icc and the icc isnt retroactive, now we have the icc and the US gov has said that it will not go on another UN mission unless its troops be excempt from the icc

Can you point me to a link where they said this?

btw what exactly would stop the US from ignoring the ICC if it were on a UN mission? If the ICC was available in GW1 or the Korean war. Do you think anybody is going to enforce it?

 

[piasabird]

Brigandry.

What is the most desirable thing on earth.

To see men fleeing before you and to hear the lamentation of the Women.


Conan . . . . .

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
As if we need yet another reason to illustrate the ongoing stupidity that is the UN and Kofi Annan, another is surfacing.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3797550

UN Sex Abuse Scandal Gathers Momentum

"PA"

Linked in the past to sex crimes in East Timor, and prostitution in Cambodia and Kosovo, UN peacekeepers have now been accused of sexually abusing the very population they were deployed to protect in Congo.

And while the 150 allegations of rape, pedophelia and solicitation in Congo may be the UN? worst sex scandal in years, chronic problems almost guarantee that few of the suspects will face serious punishment.

The problem is simple: The UN often implores nations to discipline their peacekeepers, but it has little power to enforce the rules.

And when nations are reluctant anyway to contribute soldiers for dangerous missions like Congo, it?s tough to turn the tables and shame them publicly.

?The UN goes around trying to cajole countries to provide peacekeepers,? said Edward Luck, a professor at Columbia University?s School of International and Public Affairs.

?They?re having a hard time getting any member states to respond, and that doesn?t give the UN a great deal of leverage in these kinds of situations.

While thousands of UN peacekeepers have served without incident, some have been accused of smuggling weapons and exotic animals, selling fuel on the black market, vandalising aeroplanes, and standing by while mobs looted storefronts ? if they didn?t join in the chaos themselves.

Other times their inaction led to even more grievous crimes, as when Dutch peacekeepers under a UN mandate didn?t stop Bosnian troops in the enclave of Srebrenica from loading Muslim men onto buses and taking them away to be killed.

That failure led the entire Dutch government to resign. It brought expressions of remorse at the UN, but no firings.

In the case of Congo, the accusations seem as bad as anything the UN has ever seen. Women and children have reportedly been raped, and there is said to be video and photographic evidence of crimes.

Similar allegations have been directed at UN peacekeepers and officials in East Timor. And, in Cambodia and Kosovo, local officials and human rights group charge that the presence of UN forces has been linked to an increase in trafficking of women and a sharp rise in prostitution.

In a new embarrassment, the UN confirmed yesterday that a UN auditor in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, had been accused of hiring a prostitute. He comes from the agency that is investigating the latest claims, but isn?t taking part in the probe.

The Web site for the Congo mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, reveals how bad the problem is but how little can be done. It includes a November 11 report that details the ?sensitisation training? given to 143 South African peacekeepers when they arrived in the city of Goma.

?A Power-Point presentation explains ? or reminds ? that the UN considers that any person who is less than 18 years old is a CHILD,? the report said, adding that sex with a minor is child abuse.

?No matter whether the child seems to agree to the sexual relation or if the age of the child is not clear enough at the moment of the sexual encounter.?

The Congo allegations come at a particularly bad time for the UN and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UN officials have been accused of allowing corruption under Iraq?s oil-for-food program. The refugee chief was accused of sexual harassment and cleared by Annan, which angered UN staff. The UN?s top investigator allegedly recruited and promoted staff based on their ethnicity, but was also cleared by Annan.

?The last 18 months have been one of the worst years and a half for the UN of any similar period that I can remember,? said Jonathan Tepperman, senior editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. ?This is the last thing that Kofi needed.?

In the face of another potential public relations disaster, UN officials have come out early and loud with a denunciation of the severe problems in Congo. They have announced a spate of new investigations and reportedly made the complaint process easier in countries where peacekeepers are posted.

So-called ?personnel conduct officers? have been sent to the missions in Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and Haiti.

Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, warned that the UN may even ?generate new policies? to crack down on sex abuse, though she said it?s too early to say what those policies would be.

The UN has also named Jordan?s Prince Zeid Al Hussein a special adviser on sexual exploitation with the hope that he can talk to governments and make sure they pursue claims against their soldiers.

Officials hope Zeid?s background will give him the power he needs in an extremely difficult task. He is one of the few UN ambassadors with peacekeeping experience, from Bosnia in 1994 and 1995. In addition, Jordan is a major top troop suppliers.

Lute said it?s possible sex abuses had got worse because there are far more peacekeeping missions than there once were. But right now, it must focus on prevention, with its ability to punish so limited.

?It?s obvious the measures that we have had in place have not been adequate to deal with the changing circumstances,? Lute said.

I'm sure all those absolutely infuriated by the abuses at Abu Ghraib will be jumping all over this too.

Well? Won't they?

I won't be voting for Annan either.

 

[Kibbo]

This should be investigated, and if the home countries who supplied these troops won't jail them, the ICC should.

Just like the US gov't should jail any and all who are responsible for sanctioning prisioner abuses at Abu Gharib and Guantanemo, or any other war crimes that may have been committed during this recent spate of imerialistic fervor.

It's that simple, really.

I don't see where the double standard is.

Oh wait, here it is: if the US gov't doesn't prosecute it's people, the ICC can't touch them.

Edit: When two unarmed men were killed by Canadian troops in Somalia, not only were the soldiers tried, but we had a public inquiry into the matter. Several enlisted men and one Major served jail times.

 

[sandorski]

Militaries have always acted this way, checkout Japanese issues with US MIlitary bases and you'll hear some of the same things. The problem here is not the UN condoning these actions, it is the UN's inability to do anything about it other than asking Member Nations to do something about it. Certainly something needs to be done about it, but everytime the UN tries to establish the ability to exert its' authority Washington or someone else balks.

 

[Gravity]

Anan will resign in shame and Bill Clinton will take over and unite the world.

 

[CanOWorms]

These things always happen in UN peacekeeping missions. I recall reading a report by the UN where they admitted that at least half, possibly more, of 12 of their peacekeeping missions that they studied had rampant murder, torture, child prostitution, smuggling, rape, etc.

Remember what happened in Somalia? Canadians, Belgians, etc. were torturing all sorts of people. There are even pics of the Belgians roasting people alive and urinating on corpses.

 

[Vadatajs]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: GrGr
Did Annan saction these abuses like the Bush White House sanctions abuses in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo etc.?

By not doing anything about and never disciplining the troops under his control for similar previous abuses, he did. His lack of action has fostered this atmosphere. At least Bush and Co. are bringing those responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib to trial, which is a damn sight better than can be said of Annan.

Kind of like the Catholic church and their priest fvcking little boys?

 

[dahunan]

TLC>>>I still want to know if any of the US Officials (new AG) who authorized the torture will be held responsible and prosecuted in accordance with the law and Geneva Conventions?

 

[arsbanned]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
As if we need yet another reason to illustrate the ongoing stupidity that is the UN and Kofi Annan, another is surfacing.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3797550

UN Sex Abuse Scandal Gathers Momentum

"PA"

Linked in the past to sex crimes in East Timor, and prostitution in Cambodia and Kosovo, UN peacekeepers have now been accused of sexually abusing the very population they were deployed to protect in Congo.

And while the 150 allegations of rape, pedophelia and solicitation in Congo may be the UN? worst sex scandal in years, chronic problems almost guarantee that few of the suspects will face serious punishment.

The problem is simple: The UN often implores nations to discipline their peacekeepers, but it has little power to enforce the rules.

And when nations are reluctant anyway to contribute soldiers for dangerous missions like Congo, it?s tough to turn the tables and shame them publicly.

?The UN goes around trying to cajole countries to provide peacekeepers,? said Edward Luck, a professor at Columbia University?s School of International and Public Affairs.

?They?re having a hard time getting any member states to respond, and that doesn?t give the UN a great deal of leverage in these kinds of situations.

While thousands of UN peacekeepers have served without incident, some have been accused of smuggling weapons and exotic animals, selling fuel on the black market, vandalising aeroplanes, and standing by while mobs looted storefronts ? if they didn?t join in the chaos themselves.

Other times their inaction led to even more grievous crimes, as when Dutch peacekeepers under a UN mandate didn?t stop Bosnian troops in the enclave of Srebrenica from loading Muslim men onto buses and taking them away to be killed.

That failure led the entire Dutch government to resign. It brought expressions of remorse at the UN, but no firings.

In the case of Congo, the accusations seem as bad as anything the UN has ever seen. Women and children have reportedly been raped, and there is said to be video and photographic evidence of crimes.

Similar allegations have been directed at UN peacekeepers and officials in East Timor. And, in Cambodia and Kosovo, local officials and human rights group charge that the presence of UN forces has been linked to an increase in trafficking of women and a sharp rise in prostitution.

In a new embarrassment, the UN confirmed yesterday that a UN auditor in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, had been accused of hiring a prostitute. He comes from the agency that is investigating the latest claims, but isn?t taking part in the probe.

The Web site for the Congo mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, reveals how bad the problem is but how little can be done. It includes a November 11 report that details the ?sensitisation training? given to 143 South African peacekeepers when they arrived in the city of Goma.

?A Power-Point presentation explains ? or reminds ? that the UN considers that any person who is less than 18 years old is a CHILD,? the report said, adding that sex with a minor is child abuse.

?No matter whether the child seems to agree to the sexual relation or if the age of the child is not clear enough at the moment of the sexual encounter.?

The Congo allegations come at a particularly bad time for the UN and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UN officials have been accused of allowing corruption under Iraq?s oil-for-food program. The refugee chief was accused of sexual harassment and cleared by Annan, which angered UN staff. The UN?s top investigator allegedly recruited and promoted staff based on their ethnicity, but was also cleared by Annan.

?The last 18 months have been one of the worst years and a half for the UN of any similar period that I can remember,? said Jonathan Tepperman, senior editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. ?This is the last thing that Kofi needed.?

In the face of another potential public relations disaster, UN officials have come out early and loud with a denunciation of the severe problems in Congo. They have announced a spate of new investigations and reportedly made the complaint process easier in countries where peacekeepers are posted.

So-called ?personnel conduct officers? have been sent to the missions in Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and Haiti.

Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, warned that the UN may even ?generate new policies? to crack down on sex abuse, though she said it?s too early to say what those policies would be.

The UN has also named Jordan?s Prince Zeid Al Hussein a special adviser on sexual exploitation with the hope that he can talk to governments and make sure they pursue claims against their soldiers.

Officials hope Zeid?s background will give him the power he needs in an extremely difficult task. He is one of the few UN ambassadors with peacekeeping experience, from Bosnia in 1994 and 1995. In addition, Jordan is a major top troop suppliers.

Lute said it?s possible sex abuses had got worse because there are far more peacekeeping missions than there once were. But right now, it must focus on prevention, with its ability to punish so limited.

?It?s obvious the measures that we have had in place have not been adequate to deal with the changing circumstances,? Lute said.

I'm sure all those absolutely infuriated by the abuses at Abu Ghraib will be jumping all over this too.

Well? Won't they?

The ongoing stupidity is someone who voted for Bush casting aspersions on ANYone or ANYthing. You simply don't have a leg to stand on. Who cares what you think? Your thoughts are totally irrelevant.
Besides, the only reason you have a hardon for Annan and the UN is because they refuse to rubberstamp your idiot president's half-witted ideas.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: arsbanned

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
As if we need yet another reason to illustrate the ongoing stupidity that is the UN and Kofi Annan, another is surfacing.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3797550

UN Sex Abuse Scandal Gathers Momentum

"PA"

Linked in the past to sex crimes in East Timor, and prostitution in Cambodia and Kosovo, UN peacekeepers have now been accused of sexually abusing the very population they were deployed to protect in Congo.

And while the 150 allegations of rape, pedophelia and solicitation in Congo may be the UN? worst sex scandal in years, chronic problems almost guarantee that few of the suspects will face serious punishment.

The problem is simple: The UN often implores nations to discipline their peacekeepers, but it has little power to enforce the rules.

And when nations are reluctant anyway to contribute soldiers for dangerous missions like Congo, it?s tough to turn the tables and shame them publicly.

?The UN goes around trying to cajole countries to provide peacekeepers,? said Edward Luck, a professor at Columbia University?s School of International and Public Affairs.

?They?re having a hard time getting any member states to respond, and that doesn?t give the UN a great deal of leverage in these kinds of situations.

While thousands of UN peacekeepers have served without incident, some have been accused of smuggling weapons and exotic animals, selling fuel on the black market, vandalising aeroplanes, and standing by while mobs looted storefronts ? if they didn?t join in the chaos themselves.

Other times their inaction led to even more grievous crimes, as when Dutch peacekeepers under a UN mandate didn?t stop Bosnian troops in the enclave of Srebrenica from loading Muslim men onto buses and taking them away to be killed.

That failure led the entire Dutch government to resign. It brought expressions of remorse at the UN, but no firings.

In the case of Congo, the accusations seem as bad as anything the UN has ever seen. Women and children have reportedly been raped, and there is said to be video and photographic evidence of crimes.

Similar allegations have been directed at UN peacekeepers and officials in East Timor. And, in Cambodia and Kosovo, local officials and human rights group charge that the presence of UN forces has been linked to an increase in trafficking of women and a sharp rise in prostitution.

In a new embarrassment, the UN confirmed yesterday that a UN auditor in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, had been accused of hiring a prostitute. He comes from the agency that is investigating the latest claims, but isn?t taking part in the probe.

The Web site for the Congo mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, reveals how bad the problem is but how little can be done. It includes a November 11 report that details the ?sensitisation training? given to 143 South African peacekeepers when they arrived in the city of Goma.

?A Power-Point presentation explains ? or reminds ? that the UN considers that any person who is less than 18 years old is a CHILD,? the report said, adding that sex with a minor is child abuse.

?No matter whether the child seems to agree to the sexual relation or if the age of the child is not clear enough at the moment of the sexual encounter.?

The Congo allegations come at a particularly bad time for the UN and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UN officials have been accused of allowing corruption under Iraq?s oil-for-food program. The refugee chief was accused of sexual harassment and cleared by Annan, which angered UN staff. The UN?s top investigator allegedly recruited and promoted staff based on their ethnicity, but was also cleared by Annan.

?The last 18 months have been one of the worst years and a half for the UN of any similar period that I can remember,? said Jonathan Tepperman, senior editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. ?This is the last thing that Kofi needed.?

In the face of another potential public relations disaster, UN officials have come out early and loud with a denunciation of the severe problems in Congo. They have announced a spate of new investigations and reportedly made the complaint process easier in countries where peacekeepers are posted.

So-called ?personnel conduct officers? have been sent to the missions in Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and Haiti.

Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, warned that the UN may even ?generate new policies? to crack down on sex abuse, though she said it?s too early to say what those policies would be.

The UN has also named Jordan?s Prince Zeid Al Hussein a special adviser on sexual exploitation with the hope that he can talk to governments and make sure they pursue claims against their soldiers.

Officials hope Zeid?s background will give him the power he needs in an extremely difficult task. He is one of the few UN ambassadors with peacekeeping experience, from Bosnia in 1994 and 1995. In addition, Jordan is a major top troop suppliers.

Lute said it?s possible sex abuses had got worse because there are far more peacekeeping missions than there once were. But right now, it must focus on prevention, with its ability to punish so limited.

?It?s obvious the measures that we have had in place have not been adequate to deal with the changing circumstances,? Lute said.

I'm sure all those absolutely infuriated by the abuses at Abu Ghraib will be jumping all over this too.

Well? Won't they?

The ongoing stupidity is someone who voted for Bush casting aspersions on ANYone or ANYthing. You simply don't have a leg to stand on. Who cares what you think? Your thoughts are totally irrelevant.
Besides, the only reason you have a hardon for Annan and the UN is because they refuse to rubberstamp your idiot president's half-witted ideas.

I will repeat once again for the hopelessly clueless, like you arsbanned. I don't support Bush and have never voted for him. I am standing on both legs right now telling you this. In case it didn't get through I will repeat it once more - I didn't vote for Bush. I voted for Badnarik this time and Gore the previous time.

It's people like YOU who would take Bush to task and ignore all others that are the real hypocrites and this thread points that out very clearly.