UN Sex Scandal Makes It Big

The disturbing story of ongoing sexual exploitation of minors by UN Peacekeepers may finally take flight now that there are pictures involved. ABC's 20/20 may have been slow to come to this story, which I posted on first last Nov. 22, but they got Didier's hard drive (Didier Bourguet, 41, is facing charges of sexual abuse and rape in France stemming from his time in Congo). The drive reportedly has thousands of incriminating pictures -- including one in which there are tears in the young victim's eyes.

I caught the tail end of last night's 20/20 report on the UN sex scandal and followed up with Michelle Malkin's report and Maggie Farley's report in the LATimes, who's owned this story from the beginning and is continuing to do the best job of covering it.

Farley got her hands on a letter Kofi Annan sent out last Friday laying out new proceedures, including zero contact between Peacekeepers and citizens in Congo. Peacekeepers also are now required to wear UN uniforms even when off-duty or off their base, and are under a curfew and other restrictions. Offenders will be repatriated -- but all too often, they are not prosecuted on their return, and the UN has no authority to force their prosecution.

Meanwhile, the UN's Special Representative for children and armed conflict, Olara Otunnu, fanfared "an action plan for systematically monitoring and reporting of child abuse in situations of armed conflict, or in 'situations of concern,' with a view to triggering a strong international response." It's probably just an other batch of good words that lead to no actions, but it does identify rape and sexual violence against kids as a "violation," and lists several possible actions, which together could actually make a difference:

• Imposing travel restrictions on leaders
• Excluding them from future governance structures or amnesties, arms embargoes and military assistance bans and restrictions on the flow of financial resources
• And referring the matter to the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, regional organizations and, as the first line of response, the national governments within whose borders the children are endangered.
  

I think the UN is focusing the stronger sanctions on efforts to stop recruitment and use of child soldiers, as they should, but they ought to go after Pedo-Peacekeepers with everything they can.