Peacekeeping child sexual abuse scandal

Child sexual abuse of female minors by personnel in United Nations peacekeeping forces has seriously undermined the credibility of peacekeeping missions because personnel are consequently perceived as doing more harm than good.

Rapid increase in prostitution
Reporters witnessed a rapid increase in prostitution in Bosnia, and Kosovo after UN and, in the case of the latter two, NATO peacekeeping forces moved in.

1996 U.N. study
In the 1996 U.N. study The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, former first lady of Mozambique Graça Machel documented: "In 6 out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children in situations of armed conflict prepared for the present report, the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been associated with a rapid rise in child prostitution."

Eight years later, Gita Sahgal spoke out with regard to the fact that prostitution and sex abuse crops up wherever humanitarian intervention efforts are set up. She observed: "The issue with the UN is that peacekeeping operations unfortunately seem to be doing the same thing that other militaries do. Even the guardians have to be guarded."

Involvement in brothels
There was one highly publicised case where members of the UN peacekeeping force were accused of direct involvement in the procurement of sex slaves for a local brothel in Bosnia. The use of agents for procurement and management of brothels has allowed the military to believe itself shielded from the issue of sexual slavery and human trafficking. Some NATO troops have been linked to prostitution and forced prostitution in Bosnia and Kosovo, as have some UN employees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they were accused of the sexual abuse of underage girls.

Actions of a few
Proponents of peacekeeping argue that the actions of a few should not incriminate the many participants in the mission, yet NATO and the UN have come under criticism for not taking the issue of forced prostitution linked to peacekeeping missions seriously enough.

Troops in Haiti and Sudan
Most recently, UN troops in Haiti and Sudan have been accused of sexual abuse of children