Fifty-seventh session

Agenda item 122

Report of the Secretary-General on the activities
of the Office of Internal Oversight Services

Investigation into sexual exploitation of refugees by aid workers in West Africa

Note by the Secretary-General*

* The report could not be submitted prior to the deadline of 2 July because the investigation had not yet been concluded.

1. Pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 48/218 B of 29 July 1994 and 54/244 of 23 December 1999, the Secretary-General has the honour to transmit, for the attention of the General Assembly, the attached report, conveyed to him by the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, on the investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation of refugees by aid workers in West Africa.

2. The Secretary-General takes note of the findings of the report and concurs fully with its recommendations. The Secretary-General also notes that measures are being taken or initiated to correct many of the issues raised in this report.

3. Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian staff cannot be tolerated. It violates everything the United Nations stands for. Men, women and children displaced by conflict or other disasters are among the most vulnerable people on earth. They look to the United Nations and its humanitarian partners for shelter and protection. Anyone employed by or affiliated with the United Nations who breaks that sacred trust must be held accountable and, when the circumstances so warrant, prosecuted.

4. Since the allegations first arose of sexual abuse and exploitation by humanitarian aid workers and peacekeepers in West Africa, the United Nations has been determined to act firmly and quickly. Improved systems for recourse, investigation and discipline are being instituted. Under the auspices of the Inter‑Agency Standing Committee, which brings together United Nations relief agencies, other international organizations and non-governmental organizations, the humanitarian community has identified standards of behaviour applicable to all its personnel and is implementing a newly adopted Plan of Action (see annex I) to

strengthen mechanisms for protecting those who depend on international aid. The Secretary-General welcomes these steps and reaffirms his commitment to working closely with all involved to ensure full and speedy action wherever necessary.

5. Although the genesis of this report was in West Africa, the United Nations is addressing the issue on a global basis. Wherever the United Nations and its partners are at work, they must shoulder their responsibilities for implementing the necessary management and operational changes, and remain ever vigilant to ensure that such appalling acts are not permitted to occur again.

Report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the investigation into sexual exploitation of refugees by aid workers in West Africa

Summary

Late in November 2001, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was asked by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to review allegations of sexual exploitation of female refugees by international and national aid workers, specifically regarding United Nations and non‑governmental organization (NGO) staff and peacekeepers in three West African countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The allegation of widespread sexual exploitation arose from a report by two consultants who had been commissioned by UNHCR and Save the Children (UK) to study the question of sexual exploitation and violence in the refugee communities in the three countries.

Following a series of meetings in December 2001/January 2002, UNHCR requested that the Investigations Division of OIOS conduct an investigation to ascertain inter alia whether the allegations against aid workers and peacekeepers could be legally substantiated and if the problem was widespread, as alleged, what the contributing factors were and whether evidence of criminal and/or administrative misconduct could be obtained.

It was agreed with UNHCR that, for the purpose of the investigation, the definition of sexual exploitation would be concerned primarily with situations in which an international NGO, humanitarian or aid worker, in a position of power, uses that power to request sexual favours or benefits by trading food or services that refugees are entitled to receive free of charge via the distribution system of international aid. It was determined that the applicable legal framework to deal with cases of sexual exploitation would be contained within the following texts: the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of 1989; the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, of 1999; the penal laws of the three countries and the codes of conduct of international organizations and NGOs.

OIOS assembled a carefully composed investigation team from eight countries, comprising professional investigators, lawyers, refugee protection and human rights specialists, translators and a paediatric trauma specialist. The Investigation Team commenced operations in February 2002 and completed its work in July 2002. The investigation was conducted in three phases, the first being an assessment of the scope of the problem. The second phase consisted of an evidence search aimed at determining whether what was reported in the consultants’ assessment could be verified. The third phase concentrated on seeking fresh evidence, witnesses and victims, which led to the development of new cases of sexual exploitation for investigation.

Although the stories reported by the consultants could not be verified, the problem of sexual exploitation of refugees is real. Extensive interviews of many potential witnesses, victims and others thought to have relevant information enabled the Investigation Team to identify new cases of sexual exploitation, ranging from consensual relationships that occurred as a result of the exploiter’s position of power to allegations of sodomy and rape of refugees.

While the consultants claimed that sexual exploitation was widespread, their report only gave a few vague or dated examples of uncorroborated incidents of sexual exploitation and also included a variety of reports of sexual exploitation involving local persons and internally displaced persons, commercial sex, and war-related incidents. The Investigation Team sought to confirm the validity of the most serious allegations but was hampered by the lack of information on sources and victims. Of the 12 cases from the consultants’ report which the Team fully investigated, none was substantiated even after extensive interviews of refugees, UNHCR staff and NGO employees. The Investigation Team identified and fully investigated 43 cases of possible sexual exploitation. Of these, 10 cases were substantiated by the evidence. One involved a United Nations Volunteer working with UNHCR. His case has been referred to the appropriate agency and action has been taken. Another involved a peacekeeper who has been repatriated. The other cases involved NGO personnel and their cases have been referred to the relevant organizations. It is noteworthy that no allegation against any United Nations staff member could be substantiated. These cases are described in greater detail in this report.

This report also contains observations as to the factors which contribute to sexual exploitation in refugee communities, including aspects of refugee camp life, camp structure, camp security, food and services distribution, employment opportunities, profiles of camp workers and quality and quantities of food and other relief items distributed. For example, it was observed that few international staff members of UNHCR or its implementing partners are present in the camps, allowing the actual day-to-day management of the camp to be left to national staff and the refugees themselves.

The consultants’ report of widespread sexual exploitation of refugees has not been confirmed, in the cases which OIOS was able to substantiate, by sufficient evidence for either criminal or disciplinary proceedings. However, the conditions in the camps and in refugee communities in the three countries in question make refugees vulnerable to sexual and other forms of exploitation and such vulnerability increases if one is a female and young. This report contains 17 recommendations, including recommendations for follow-up on cases with the organizations which have been provided with evidence that one or more of their employees have been using their position for exploitative purposes.

Comments on this report were sought from UNHCR, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (co-chairs of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises) as well as the World Food Programme. Their comments are included in italics in the text of the report and in the two annexes.

Contents

	Paragraphs	Page
I. Introduction.........................................................	1–3	6
II. Methodology........................................................	4–7	6
III. Definitions..........................................................	8–12	7
IV. The investigation.....................................................	13–41	7
A. Verification of the consultants’ report	14–16	7
B. Case studies....................................................	17–21	8
C. Problems in the camps.............................................	22–23	11
D. Camp life.......................................................	24	12
E. Meeting basic needs	25–41	12
V. Conclusion.........................................................	42–54	14
VI. Recommendations....................................................	55	17
Annexes
I. Report of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises and Plan of Action on sexual exploitation		20
II. Highlights of some action taken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to prevent exploitation of refugees		35

I. Introduction

1. Late in November 2001, the Inspector General of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) advised the Director of the Investigations Division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of information received indicating that sexual exploitation of refugee women and girls by humanitarian aid workers and United Nations peacekeepers might be occurring in West Africa.

2. The information was contained in a preliminary report written by consultants retained by UNHCR and Save the Children UK for a separate study in the West Africa region. Following that notification, it was agreed that a meeting should be held on the issue with a view to obtaining full details from the consultants.
In December 2001/January 2002, several meetings were held, involving the consultants and the relevant officers of UNHCR, the World Food Programme (WFP) and OIOS. It was agreed that prior to an investigation there was an urgent need for UNHCR to put in place additional safeguards to protect refugee women and girls and to provide further means for them to report any incidents. Once those safeguards were operational to protect victims and witnesses, OIOS would launch an investigation to determine whether there was evidence of criminal conduct or administrative misconduct by humanitarian aid workers or peacekeepers, whether the problem was widespread or incidental and what the contributing factors were. Originally, the lead consultant, from Save the Children UK, had agreed to assist the OIOS team, but she was unable to do so for personal reasons. The second consultant, from UNHCR, subsequently provided some assistance in Guinea.

3. In February 2002, the investigation led by OIOS began in West Africa, specifically in the three countries which had been visited late in 2001 by the consultants — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (the Mano River Union countries) — and field work was completed in July 2002. This is the report of that investigation.

II. Methodology

4. Because of the risks to refugee women and girls who might have been subject to sexual exploitation, UNHCR reinforced and upgraded protection mechanisms in each camp prior to the start of the investigation to ensure that both during and after the investigation, there would be appropriate protection and support systems for any victims identified. Furthermore, OIOS decided to use code numbers rather than names to identify potential victims and key witnesses as an additional measure of protection. It is important to note that no reward or incentive was offered to any of the refugee witnesses in exchange for providing information or assistance to the investigation.

5. The Investigation Team assembled by OIOS in consultation with UNHCR was carefully composed of professional investigators, lawyers, refugee protection and human rights specialists, translators and a paediatric trauma specialist, who are nationals of eight countries: Australia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Japan, Kenya, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. Further, owing to the sensitive nature of the issue, female investigators and translators were utilized to the extent possible for interviews with female refugees.

6. The Investigation Team worked on the ground in Guinea and Sierra Leone but only to a limited extent in Liberia because of the movement of refugees and the security situation in that country. Meetings were held with stakeholders in the United Nations system and with the concerned NGOs, including with the local staff of both UNHCR and the NGOs in all three countries. Nearly 300 individual interviews were conducted of refugees, aid workers and peacekeepers in those countries and careful observations of camp activity were made.

7. It was appreciated from the outset that witnesses might be reluctant to speak about sexual exploitation and other related matters out of fear of reprisal or stigmatization, or for cultural and social reasons. All witnesses were therefore assured of the protection of their identity and the confidentiality of the information provided. In addition to interviews at the refugee camps, interviews were conducted with repatriated refugees at several transit camps from which a significant number of cases were developed for investigation. The Investigation Team observed that some refugees were more willing to provide information outside the refugee camp environment, owing to fear of possible retaliation in the camps.

III. Definitions

8. Laws of the three countries were carefully researched, as were the rules, regulations, guidelines, codes and practices governing aid workers.

9. Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of 1989, defines a child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. The same definition is used in article 2 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, of 1999. In view of their vulnerability to sexual exploitation and the seriousness of cases involving them, the focus of the investigation was mainly on female refugees under 18 years of age as defined in various international statutes, who were allegedly denied aid (or other benefits to which they might be entitled) for refusing to enter into a sexual relationship with an aid worker. The Investigation Team also looked into those cases where an aid worker allegedly used aid as a tool to lure a refugee girl into a sexual relationship.

10. Aid workers include refugees hired by NGOs or the United Nations as well as national and international staff of NGOs and United Nations agencies employed in any capacity, including daily labour.

11. It was observed during the investigation and confirmed in interviews with refugees that many relationships develop between refugees and aid workers who themselves are refugees. Such relationships are entered into for a variety of reasons, including the situation where a female refugee does so in the expectation or hope that she may be rewarded with additional goods and services beyond what she would normally be entitled to receive. This is not to suggest that a number of these relationships are not genuine and may result in marriages.

12. The Investigation Team discovered that many female refugees engage in relationships because of the abject poverty pervading the refugee camps in which they live. In the absence of skills training and employment, many are compelled to enter into prostitution or other forms of exploitative relationships to augment the inadequate aid provided for their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.

UNICEF in its comments to OIOS stated that the scope of the investigation should have included other vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons because relationships entered into by females in these situations could also be deemed exploitative.

OIOS notes that its task was not to establish general exploitation, as that would exceed its mandate, but to determine if those persons in need of protection, specifically refugees, under the protection of UNHCR, were victims of sexual exploitation.

IV. The investigation

13. The Investigation Team took a two-pronged approach: first, to try to establish whether the information obtained as a by-product of another study by the two consultants retained by UNHCR and Save the Children UK could be verified. This was critical as the information provided by the consultants was based on stories related by third parties and had not been verified by them. Second, to conduct independent interviews of refugee women and girls to establish whether sufficient evidence could be adduced to prove cases of sexual exploitation by aid workers and peacekeepers, whether by criminal or administrative proceedings.

A. Verification of the consultants’ report

14. The two consultants, together with a Save the Children staff member, had been retained to study sexual exploitation and violence against refugee children in the three Mano River countries. During the several weeks of their work, they met with groups which included refugees, returnees, local populations, internally displaced persons and humanitarian aid workers. In these groups, they heard stories concerning sexual exploitation and prostitution in West Africa generally, and in camps for which UNHCR has responsibility specifically, as well as in camps for internally displaced persons who are not within the mandate of UNHCR. As a result of these stories of exploitative behaviour by humanitarian aid workers and peacekeepers, the consultants made a preliminary report to UNHCR late in November 2001. The leaking to the media in February 2002 of the full draft report, which was presented to UNHCR and Save the Children in January 2002, created a media furore, and thereafter the unconfirmed stories were treated as facts in the media and elsewhere.

15. Thus the first job of the Investigation Team was to ascertain if the stories reported by the consultants could be verified and to identify and record evidence from victims. However, this proved problematic for a variety of reasons: the refugee population is highly mobile; many of the stories involved non-refugee populations; stories were related to war events; or stories were from groups of people vaguely described by the consultants for example as “6-12 year olds”, “women leaders”, “community leaders”, “women’s group” and “adolescents”. Some examples are given below:

(a) In one camp in Guinea, the Investigation Team reconstructed a group of girls described by the consultants as “girl mothers”, allegedly the victims of sexual exploitation. None of those interviewed was in a relationship with an aid worker; those with children informed the Investigation Team that fellow refugees had impregnated them. Indeed, in all three countries refugees, including leadership committees and refugee parents, told the Investigation Team that most pregnancies were the result of relationships between refugees.

(b) The few individual sources named by the consultants were found to be repeating rumours and gossip rather than providing first-hand information. Those named as perpetrators were generally identified by nicknames, initials or names very common in the region. The Investigation Team was however able to trace some of the sources with the assistance of the local translators and names eventually supplied by one of the consultants.

(c) When the Investigation Team interviewed the person who had reported sexual exploitation to the consultants, and she was asked to provide specific examples of such exploitation, she was unable to. She stated that her discussion with the consultants was based on what she called her “psychological assessment”, in view of the high incidence of teenage pregnancies observed by her in that particular camp in Guinea.

(d) One widely circulated story reported by the consultants was of 10 girls in Sierra Leone allegedly on their way to meet United Nations peacekeepers who had drowned after a canoe they were travelling in capsized. The peacekeepers were blamed for their deaths. The Investigation Team found that the story was reported by a group of 6 to 12 year old children who related stories of various incidents of drowning victims in different locations. Despite substantial efforts to confirm the report, the Investigation Team found no evidence to support what seems to have become a kind of mythical story of desperation by refugees. An internal investigation of the same incident previously conducted by the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) arrived at the same conclusion.

(e) Another report of groups of women and girls being photographed in suggestive poses by peacekeepers was also found not to be credible after the Investigation Team interviewed the group of women and girls who were said to have been involved.

(f) Where there were specific allegations against named perpetrators, the Investigation Team found that these were also reported by non-witness third parties. The allegations could not be verified despite efforts to locate the possible victims.

16. Nevertheless, the fact that the consultants heard sexual exploitation stories from groups of unconnected people, spread across three countries, gives some credibility to the issue even if the specific allegations could not be verified. It is also the view of OIOS and UNHCR that the consultants were correct to raise the issue of sexual exploitation. The Investigation Team found that the limited assistance provided, as well as poverty and lack of economic opportunity for women in the camps and elsewhere in the region, are factors that lead to sexual exploitation.

B. Case studies

17. The Investigation Team conducted extensive interviews of refugees, NGO staff and UNHCR staff in an attempt to verify the stories reported by the consultants and to pursue new cases developed by the Investigation Team. From these, the Team was able to identify cases for investigation, including cases from the consultants’ report. Most of the cases the Team investigated originated in Guinea. None of the allegations of sexual exploitation reported by the consultants was substantiated, however. The NGO cases have been referred to the relevant NGOs for appropriate follow-up. In a majority of those cases, which could not be fully substantiated, either the victim or the alleged perpetrator could not be traced.

18. OIOS acknowledges the difficulty of obtaining corroborative evidence in the form of eyewitness testimony in cases of sexual exploitation and related offences. Hence not all of the cases investigated could be corroborated. In the substantiated cases, some of the corroborative evidence obtained included medical evidence, injuries consistent with the allegation and evidence of recent complaints by the victims. Some of the cases related to accusations against NGO aid workers, others to the peacekeepers of UNAMSIL and others to United Nations staff, including UNHCR. Medical staff in the camps and UNHCR field staff reported cases of sexual violence such as rape and sexual assault between refugees in which the perpetrator was in a position of physical power rather than a position of power resulting from the authority conferred on him by an NGO or an international organization.

19. All reports of sexual exploitation or misconduct pertaining to NGOs received and investigated by the Team were passed on to the relevant organization through UNHCR so that the circumstances of each case could be reviewed under the particular disciplinary or administrative process of the NGO, as OIOS does not have jurisdiction over NGO staff. One case, in which a United Nations Volunteer was involved, was referred to UNHCR and his services were subsequently terminated by his agency.

20. The cases described below are derived from the independent interviews conducted by the Investigation Team except where there are specific references to the consultants’ report. These cases are illustrative of all the cases the Team investigated.

Case 1

(a) A 17-year-old female refugee from Sierra Leone alleged that she was involved in a sexual relationship with a United Nations Volunteer. She stated that she had met him in 1999 when she was approximately 15 years old while he, a man then aged 44 years, was a United Nations Volunteer working with UNHCR in Gueckedou, Guinea. Following the first meeting, the victim and the Volunteer agreed to enter into a sexual relationship.

(b) At the time of the relationship the refugee victim was living with foster parents in that town. The victim stated that the United Nations Volunteer knew her to be a refugee and was aware of her age, which was confirmed by other evidence. She further explained that the he assisted her financially by paying her school fees, enabling her to acquire computing and typing skills. The victim told the investigators that, as result of her sexual relationship with the United Nations Volunteer, she became pregnant. The man then abandoned her, refused to accept paternity or provide any form of support or maintenance for the child.

(c) When confronted with the evidence in the case, the United Nations Volunteer at first attempted to deny the allegation but later admitted that he had had a sexual relationship with the victim. He refused to accept responsibility for the pregnancy, however.

(d) The contract of the United Nations Volunteer has since been terminated as a result of the evidence obtained during the investigation.

Case 2

(a) A 14-year-old refugee girl from Sierra Leone was raped in a refugee camp in Guinea early in 2002. The Investigation Team established that the offenders, a Sierra Leonean refugee and a Guinean NGO staff member, were responsible. In the course of her interview, the victim described in detail how the Guinean NGO offender while on duty in the refugee camp spotted her and requested his friend, the Sierra Leonean, to approach her on his behalf to solicit her for a sexual relationship. She declined the solicitation. Later that day, the Sierra Leonean refugee called to her as she was walking past his hut, saying that he had a message for her. When she paused, he pushed her inside his hut where the NGO offender was waiting. She was restrained and violently raped by the NGO worker.

(b) The victim sustained serious injuries and reported the matter to friends who immediately took her to the health post in the camp for medical attention. She was treated for her injuries and transferred to a local hospital for further medical attention. The physician confirmed to the Investigation Team that he had treated the victim and that, in his professional opinion, the injuries were consistent with rape. The physician added that he had to refer the victim to a hospital in the neighbouring town because of the seriousness of the injuries she sustained. The victim was subsequently able to identify the NGO staff member and the Sierra Leonean refugee to the investigators.

(c) The Sierra Leonean refugee who had facilitated the rape admitted having assisted his friend, the NGO worker. The perpetrator denied the rape allegation but acknowledged that he was present in the refugee camp when the rape allegedly occurred. He further admitted knowing the Sierra Leonean refugee who had abetted him and also identified him to the investigators. In view of the criminal nature of the allegation, the matter has been brought to the attention of UNHCR to refer the case to the local Guinean authorities for prosecution. The matter has also been referred to the NGO that employs the perpetrator for their action.

Case 3

(a) A young returnee boy alleged that a UNAMSIL peacekeeper had sodomized him late in June 2002, in an isolated bush area near the contingent’s logistic base. In this case, the boy, who is approximately 14 years of age, was with some friends who are all from a transit centre for returning refugees near the contingent’s camp managed by one of the implementing partners of UNHCR. The victim says that, while he was fishing, a non-commissioned officer, whom the victim clearly identified and knew from prior encounters, led him away from where the other boys and soldiers were fishing. As the victim knew and trusted the alleged offender, he complied with the request to follow him.

(b) The two reached a secluded point some 100 metres from their initial fishing spot on the river’s embankment. There, the victim stated that the offender grabbed him and forcibly sodomized him. Subsequently, the victim managed to break free from the offender and ran to his friends to report the incident and showed them the money that the offender had given him to keep him quiet.

(c) The victim reported the matter to his mother later the same day and they subsequently reported the assault to the police. As a result of the sexual assault, he felt discomfort and, approximately two days later, was taken to a hospital for medical examination. The physician stated that the description of discomfort by the victim was consistent with sexual assault.

(d) The victim, his mother and other guardians stated that they had not considered reporting the matter to UNAMSIL as they thought it was a normal police case. The police, on receipt of the allegation and the medical report, went to the contingent’s camp to attempt to arrest the alleged offender. (The police told the Investigation Team that they had been denied access to the alleged offender when they tried to investigate the allegation.)

(e) Only after OIOS notified UNAMSIL did the Mission’s management request that an investigation be conducted by the Chief Provost Marshal in collaboration with the Investigation Team. The peacekeeper was identified by the victim and interviewed. UNAMSIL has since confirmed that the investigation is now concluded and that, as a result of the findings, the officer in question has been repatriated to his country of origin. The details of the allegations and findings were forwarded by UNAMSIL to the concerned country for appropriate action.

Case 4

Claims of sexual exploitation were made directly against two UNHCR staff members in the consultants’ report that were both investigated by the Team. In one case, involving a UNHCR Protection Officer, more than 20 interviews were conducted with refugee girls of various ages and with UNHCR staff members in an effort to obtain evidence of the reported exploitation. As no further details other than the claims were available, the allegations could not be substantiated. Similar allegations against a UNHCR driver and a WFP member of staff could not be substantiated. In the case of the UNHCR driver, the victim could not identify the perpetrator, as she had not been in contact with him for several years. The absence of specifics from the consultants regarding possible exploitation by United Nations staff led the Investigation Team to spend many days trying to track vague stories to no avail.

Case 5

The consultants’ report noted several cases of NGO officials exploiting refugee girls or living with under-aged refugee girls. In all the cases the Team investigated, the female refugee in question was in fact an adult. In a particular case in Liberia, a female refugee described in the report as a child was actually a 25-year-old woman who had been in a long-term relationship with the NGO aid worker and had been living with him in his apartment when she became pregnant. Although he had agreed to support the child, he had been unable to do so when he was fired.

Case 6

An allegation that a truck driver employed by one of the implementing partners of UNHCR was engaged in sexual exploitation was investigated by the Team and substantiated. The under-aged victim identified the driver from an array of photographs as the person who had impregnated her and abandoned her. The matter has been referred to the employing NGO for appropriate action.

Case 7

In another case investigated, the Investigation Team confirmed that a refugee, who was also an NGO employee, had impregnated a 17-year-old refugee girl. He has since fled to his country of origin and cannot be located.

Case 8

Two cases involving specific NGO staff who allegedly had exchanged sex for food with refugee girls were investigated. The perpetrators could not be identified as the victims were not able to describe the physical appearance of the perpetrators, nor did the girls know their full names, giving only first names that are common in the community. Furthermore, it is unclear if they were regular NGO staff or casual staff from the refugee communities. The matter has been referred to the NGO in question for follow-up.

Case 9

An allegation that a refugee schoolteacher impregnated a 17-year-old disabled refugee girl was investigated and substantiated. The perpetrator initially denied responsibility for the pregnancy but he has since accepted responsibility and is providing financial support for the child.

Case 10

It was alleged that a schoolteacher employed by an NGO had approached a student for a relationship and regularly subjected her to physical abuse when she rejected his advances. The Team investigated the case but was unable to trace the victim to verify the allegations. In any case, the teacher has been dismissed for undisclosed reasons by the NGO.

21. These cases were not the only ones investigated, but they represent the types of case and outcome adduced by the Investigation Team. The evidence did not substantiate any of the other cases involving regular United Nations staff members. This finding is consistent with the fact that the vast majority of aid workers in the camps are from NGOs. OIOS cautions against complacency, however, as new cases will arise.

C. Problems in the camps

22. Close examination of the operation of the camps indicates that there are several major problems which could easily lead to exploitation of various kinds, including sexual exploitation:

(a) The Investigation Team found few women in key positions in the camps;

(b) Job opportunities for refugees generally are poor to non-existent and where they do exist, they are primarily taken by men, leaving women very little authority or personal access to funds or power;

(c) While girls make up substantial numbers of students in the lower grades of schools in the camps, there are virtually none in the higher grades, leaving them with limited education, often on their own or tending to small children;

(d) Few international staff of either UNHCR or the implementing partners are in the camps themselves, so that the actual management of the camps is left to local staff and other refugees with only very limited supervision; indeed, the farther the camp is from the UNHCR branch office, the less attention its residents are receiving from international staff;

(e) While many of the humanitarian aid workers the Investigation Team met are highly dedicated staff, working under extremely difficult, exhausting and minimally rewarding circumstances, there are others assigned to work in the camps who are of varying skill levels, commitment and interest in refugees who may engage in sexual exploitation;

(f) Single young women who have lost their supporting family structures in the wars are among those most at risk, and efforts by UNHCR to find foster families for them have met with mixed results.

23. The Investigation Team’s observations revealed that the camp environment is a fertile ground for breeding exploitative behaviour.

D. Camp life

24. In general, the refugee camps are managed by implementing partners on behalf of UNHCR, which retains responsibility for refugee protection, coordination and monitoring of assistance in the camps. The refugees themselves organize various committees, with a chairperson and other designated officials. The main camp committee undertakes various roles, including acting as a focal point for the refugees and liasing with NGOs and UNHCR on behalf of the refugees to articulate their needs and concerns. This committee also mediates disputes in the refugee community. Some examples found by the Investigation Team include paternity disputes and claims for child support. The committees are also involved in hiring refugees as casual labourers for NGOs. In terms of recreation, there are social and sports activities organized in the camps for and by the refugees. There is no restriction on the movement of refugees or others at any time of the day or night, either within the camp or exiting and entering the camp.

E. Meeting basic needs

1. Shelter

25. Refugees in the camps visited in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone live in temporary shelters made of mud bricks and poles; normally only one room is provided for a family. Prior to the allocation of individual plots and the provision of shelter material, refugees are housed in communal shelters. It is the responsibility of the refugees to construct their own homes. However, in the case of persons identified as “vulnerable”, including single females, the responsible NGO may assist with the construction of the shelter. The NGO staff members, however, are usually male and are often refugees themselves. In some of the camps visited by the Investigation Team, the camp manager is involved as well. Straw is used for bedding — anything more requires money.

2. Sanitary facilities

26. Bathing facilities in a number of the camps consist of one building with one side for men and another side for women. The isolation and lack of separate and distinctly placed facilities, which would increase the cost, has caused the facilities to occasionally be the site of sexual violence. However, since the investigation, the camps in Liberia now have separate facilities.

3. Health

27. Basic medical care is normally provided through implementing partners, whose staff are stretched thin, rarely have time for health education or prevention and lack facilities for more serious cases, which are usually referred to neighbouring public hospitals. The case referral system is quite cumbersome and delays are common; in the case of urban refugees, authorization by the UNHCR physician in the branch office is required. For example, a delay of several days in referring the case of a baby scalded by hot water in Guinea resulted in the baby’s death.

28. Although teenage pregnancy is rife in some of the camps visited, there is little or no pre- or post-natal care for mothers and often the father is not identified or, if he is, does not accept responsibility for the child. Babies are the responsibility of the mothers, who must provide for them as best they can. Some baby milk and limited baby supplies are normally provided.

General Assembly	Distr.: General
	11 October 2002
	Original: English