Programme Number: 032
Week of: 23th January 2005
Recording Date: Thursday, 27 January 2005

UNITED NATIONS SEXUAL ABUSE SCANDAL IN THE DR CONGO

NARRATOR:
Hello and welcome to United Nations Radio from New York.

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NARRATOR:
You're listening to, UN and Africa. And I'm, Ben Dotsei Malor.

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NARRATOR:
In this special programme, We're dealing with the serious problem of sexual exploitation by SOME UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN's head of peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno says people's trust in the UN has been betrayed.

CLIP-1, GUEHENNO:
"I feel a mix of outrage and anger. I feel angry too because it demoralizes the mission, it destroys the trust that the Congolese have in MONUC and the efforts of the United Nations, it is a big stain on us."

NARRATOR:
In the meantime, the UN is taking measures like imposing curfews and keeping its troops away from the local population, but DR Congo's envoy to the UN, Atoki Ileka, says more needs to be done for the victims?

CLIP-2, ILEKA:
"We should find a clear way for reparations for all of the victims, and 15,000 dollars? That's not the way to go. When a person is raped in New York City or in Europe there they're getting much more than that. It's not because people are black or African that they should get less … a human life is a human life whatever colour it is."

NARRATOR:
We'll also be hearing also for the head of the UN mission in the Dr Congo, William Swing, about steps being taken to bring the offenders to book .

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DR CONGO: UN SEXUAL SCANDAL

NARRATOR:
The UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations has begun taking a number of urgent measures to deal with the serious problem of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeeping personnel in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some of the measures being taken include new training to sensitise peacekeepers about sexual misconduct, and the re-examination of peacekeeping policies in order to change the culture in peacekeeping missions, for the better.

A four-month investigation has been conducted in and around the town of Bunia, and out of 72 original allegations, investigators have substantiated six of the cases against some peacekeeping troops from three nations. A civilian United Nations staff member has also been arrested and given over to his government to be prosecuted.

During interviews with investigators, Congolese women and girls confirmed having regular sexual contact with peacekeepers, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money. Many of these activities involved girls under the age of 18, and some were as young as 13.

But how widespread are these abuses?
What has the UN done or is doing to stop these abuses and bring the offenders to book?
What about the victims? What help are they receiving?

We'll hear from the DR Congo's UN envoy in a moment.
But first, the UN's top man on the ground in the DR Congo, William Swing, speaking about the scale of the problem.

SWING1: SHOCKED AND SICKENED
"We have had and continue to have a serious problem of sexual exploitation and abuse. We are shocked by it. We are outraged. We are sickened by it."

Mr Swing's outrage is shared by the head of the UN's peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guehenno.

CLIP GUEHENNO
"I feel a mix of outrage and anger. I feel angry too because it demoralizes the mission, it destroys the trust that the Congolese have in MONUC and the efforts of the United Nations, it is a big stain on us."

Mr Guehenno is also concerned that ordinary people in the DRC have also had their trust in the UN, betrayed.

GUEHENNO: CREDIBILITY DAMAGED
"There is no question that when that kind of abuse happens, it hurts our credibility. You know, for me I have the memory of going to Bunia and seeing the gratitude of the people in Bunia, so when we betray the confidence they place upon us, it is unconscionable."

Such a betrayal of trust is even more serious because many of the victims were already brutalised during Congo's civil war. Investigator Barbara Dixon, from the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services, explains.

DIXON7: TRAUMATISED GIRLS
"Tthese girls had already been traumatized by being raped and abused during the course of the war. What they knew is if they wanted to eat, this was the way to do it. Right. Sex for a couple of eggs. Sex for a dollar. It wasn't like there was a price list. There would be an offering to them of some food or a small amount of money and then they would agree to it."

This climate of general poverty and hunger has made the girls and women more vulnerable, according to Mr Guehenno.

GUEHENNO: BROKEN NATION
"You are in a broken country, with extreme misery, and you insert a force with power, with money. The imbalance between power and money and that extreme misery …the risk of that imbalance creating an exploitative environment is quite high."

Within this atmosphere, investigators have been finding it difficult to identify the main culprits. Barbara Dixon says many of the allegations have been non-specific.

DIXON1: GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
"They have been very general … 'girls near the mango tree'… 'Seventeen-year old near a round-about.' … ' Girls near an abandoned house.' Given the nature of the allegations and how generalized they are, and given the fact that we were dealing, in many cases, with very young girls, who can't distinguish one non-Congolese from another, who had already been traumatized by the strife in the Ituri province, the fact that we were able to put together evidentiary cases with victims and witnesses picking people out of line-ups is, in my view, frankly amazing under these circumstances."

But she acknowledges that the problem is widespread.
So what has been done to stop and prevent the abuses? Here's the UN envoy to the DR Congo, William Swing.

SWING16 MEASURES
"We have done curfews. We are looking at off limits t areas. We have instituted the number and places like Bunia and Kisangani and elsewhere in Kalemie. Now a lot remains to be done."

And some of these measures should include a permanent ban from the UN for all offenders, according Barbara Dixon.

DIXON ON BANNING OFFENDERS / BLACKLIST
"In the detailed reports that we have given we have made particular recommendations in that regards, everything from, ensuring that the individual soldiers and others that we have identified through these investigations don't appear any place else, whether at Headquarters or on another peacekeeping missions, that they are prominently blacklisted. And finally, I would like to say that we did run into fairly substantial resistance from some of the contingent commanders. They didn't want looking at it. This is not unheard of in the military. And I will say that to his credit, Mr. Swing and the Force Commander jumped in, sent someone to meet with us in Bunia. Even the Force Commander Deputy was kept waiting for two days before he could even get a meeting with one of the contingent commanders. At the end of the day, thy forced compliance even as noted, pulling people literally off airplanes, getting the plane off taxi way."

UN envoy Swing thinks a database of the offenders would also help.

SWING1 OFFENDERS:
"Any of these cases where we know that these people are guilty, we need to develop a database to make sure that they never again darken the doorway of the Secretariat, or any of our missions or any of our agencies, so that there is a database and their name pops up. I think that's terribly important."
BARBARA DIXON:
"We have made recommendations for prevention. The girls and women involved need to know that there is a safe harbour where they can go and make a report and they need to know that we have professional investigators who know how to do these kinds of cases. Not everybody who is a trained investigator even can do them. To send civilians out to try and do this only wreaks havoc."

In addition to this, Head of peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno also believes that Military Commanders in the field must strictly enforce discipline over their troops.

GUEHENNO: COMMANDERS:
"You need the contingent commanders to see as part of their command responsibility the need to enforce the strictest discipline in their contingent. We need in the induction, in the message to the troop contributing countries to make it clear that this a fundamental command responsibility, and if sexual cases come up in his contingent that's a recipe for immediate repatriation of the contingent commander, because it mean he does not perform his command responsibilities in an adequate manner. That's really the issue. It's units and not countries."

And he says the rules must be obeyed.

GUEHENNO: RULES ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR
"The rules of the UN are crystal clear. The sexual majority is eighteen, for the United Nations. Any sex with under eighteen is against the UN rule. That is crystal clear."

But the difficulty for Mr Guehenno and the United Nations is that, by the agreement reached with the troop contributing nations, when wrong-doers are caught they cannot be prosecuted by the UN but by their respective governments.
So far, action has been taken against two soldiers and one civilian has been imprisoned in his own country. UN envoy William Swing says the UN is also working through some quick-impact programmes to help the victims in the DR Congo.

But what about the government of the DR Congo? What do they think about what is happening? I caught up with the DR Congo's envoy to the UN, Atoki Ileka and asked him for his reaction?

INTERVIEW: AMBASSADOR ATOKI ILEKA.
"AMBASSADOR ILEKA:
This is not a new issue, actually. Our government has been complaining since 2000 about misconduct of some troops within the UN and nothing had been done. They have waited, maybe that have some alternative investigation, I don't know. But it's only this year - that means four years later - that the whole issue if popping up because now it's taking a wider scale and it's giving some discredit on the UN. And I can tell you for the moment, for many of the Congolese they have no more confidence for the UN and that confidence we have to restore it because it's very important if we want to achieve our transition and to have a new Congo and in that way the UN has a crucial role to play in the DRC and it's important that we tackle the issue and we try to solve it as soon as possible."

BEN MALOR:
You're suggesting the UN, particularly, has been very slow in taking up your complaints of sexual exploitation in your country?

AMBASSADOR ILEKA:
That's exactly what I'm saying. It took more or less, four years from the first complaint by the Congolese government and now though the action the UN is taking now is too long, four years. Now it's come to the stage where it has become a scandal and I think because it has become a scandal that is known worldwide that the UN is taking steps to solve it. But they should have listened to the government four years ago.

BEN MALOR:
Specifically, what practical action would you expect the United Nations to take in these cases?

AMBASSADOR ILEKA:
Bon, that's a very difficult one. When a person is convicted of sexual abuse, okay, one thing is to arrest him. I understand that they have to be expelled and brought back to their country where they should face also justice. Then they should have a follow-up for those persons, to be sure that they are facing justice. But in the other end we want to see some practical measures towards the victims. But we don't see [that.] I heard the SRSG[Envoy Swing] speaking about programmes and quick[-impact] programmes etc. Those quick[-impact] programmes were not intended for those cases. When we established MONUC [the UN peacekeeping mission] we told MONUC that wherever there would be a UN base they would have to favour some kind of development on the sites surrounding the bases. That was the quick[-impact] programme was intended for and not to address the issues of victims, such as rape. We should find a clear way for reparations for all of the victims, and 15,000 dollars? That's not the way to go. When a person is raped in New York City or in Europe they've got much more than that. It's not because people are black or African that they should get less … a human life is a human life, whatever colour it is.

UN RADIO'S BEN MALOR:
People would say that since MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission got into the DR Congo they have made some difference. Would you say that the difference or the good that the United Nations is doing has been wiped out by this scandal?

AMBASSADOR ILEKA:
No, I'm not saying that it has been wiped out by the sexual scandal. What I'm saying is that the credibility of the UN is tainted by this scandal. But nevertheless, we are the first ones to recognise that since MONUC has begun to deploy in earlier 2000, the fighting has ceased as such and that's enabled us to begin political negotiations and now we are at the end transition and we are hoping that MONUC will be able to help us through the elections process and also to ensure stability in the country after the elections. So MONUC still has some good days in the DRC and we do hope the scandals that we have on our hands will be solved, so we can continue our good collaboration with MONUC."

NARRATOR:
The Ambassador of the DR Congo to the United Nations, Atoki Ileka.

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NARRATOR:
That's it for this special edition of UN and Africa.
Thanks for listening and thanks to Producer, Derrick Mbatha, Production Assistant Nyi Nyi Teza, and studio engineer Marlow Saady.
I'm Ben Dotsei Malor.

Take care and goodbye.

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