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Join on Telegram Rabat – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) announced on Friday that it would probe allegations of mishandling investigations into sexual misconduct in which peacekeepers, from several nationalities, including Moroccans, are accused of involvement.
Vladimir Monteiro, MINUSCA spokesperson, told AFP that these allegations are going to be examined.
On Wednesday, Code Blue Campaign, an NGO based in the United States, said in a report that a confidential source had given it 14 internal case files regarding allegations of sexual offences against civilians in the African country, committed by UN peacekeepers.
Moroccan soldiers are accused of sexual misconduct along with others representing eight nationalities, namely: Pakistan, Zambia, Republic of Congo, Burundi, Egypt, Cameroon, Gabon and Niger.
Previous investigations were accused by Code Blue Campaign of not probing in depth the complaints that were made against the UN troops, and that investigators were “overwhelming” biased against alleged victims.
The NGO said that in eight of cases “alleged victims were not questioned to provide evidence; potentially corroborating witnesses were not sought out for interviews”.
The NGO pointed to a case where a Moroccan solider is accused of sexual assault. His alleged victim said he assaulted her in Obo, eastern CAR. The woman said she was questioned for 13 days by nine men from the UN and local authorities before concluding “her allegation was false and intended to discredit MINUSCA and gain compensation”.
In March 2016 a UN report indicated four Moroccan peacekeepers are accused of sexual misconduct, three in CAR and the fourth one in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
