The Geneva conventions are clear: rape is a war crime.  And since the sentence of the International Criminal Tribunal of Arusha, the raping of women is a crime against humanity. It is important to highlight that sexual crimes committed by the blue berets are becoming so repetitive that they may become massive.

In effect, many peacekeeping operations are transformed into the destruction of vaginas, with the rape of beautiful women...

HAITI

Raped women, abused children, human traffic: The accusations go back a long way. The indifference too.

Rape, pedophilia and human traffic destined for the sex trade seem to be part of the program of the United Nations (UN) troops currently deployed in Haiti. The denunciation of these acts started at almost the same time as the blue berets were deployed in the country in February 2004.

We express our outrage at the cases of sexual abuse perpetrated against the women and children of Haiti by 108 soldiers and 3 officers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), all from Sri Lanka. CONAP (a very active and well known Platform of feminist organizations), in a letter to the president dated 19^th November 2007, demands that the government go beyond making declarations, so that the violence perpetrated with complete impunity by the occupying forces is finally and severely punished by the national Courts responsible. They demand:

- Action to obtain information from the UN and the public dissemination of the above;

- The opening of an investigation to identify the number of women and child victims and the other MINUSTAH contingents who have committed sexual crimes against Haitians; 

- Concrete actions to ensure the representation of the victims in court in order to obtain justice and reparation;

- The exit of foreign troops from Haiti.

Sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers are escalating in many countries (Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Kosovo, etc.), but it is in Haiti that the 1,600 troops and the 1,700 police officers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission have been particularly criticized for abusing the local population.

Supported by their immunity to the laws of the poorest nation in the hemisphere, the blue berets have prostituted children and women in exchange for food or money, raped others, and committed all sorts of abuses. We only have to recall the case of an 11-year-old girl abused by troops in front of the Presidential Palace, or the 14-year-old boy raped in a naval base established by the UN in the country. Despite the detailed medical examination presented by human rights defenders, the denunciation of both cases was dismissed by the international body, due to “lack of evidence.”

The participation of UN troops in cases of sexual abuse of Haitian minors was proven in an initial report by UN internal control services, and several Haitian citizens as well as many national civil society organizations are demanding that the aggressors are brought to justice and punished.

With regards to the 108 troops from Sri Lanka, they were repatriated by the United Nations on the 3^rd November 2007. Subsequently, the Sri Lankan authorities launched an enquiry into the case, in order to “bring to justice the soldiers whose guilt has been established,” according to the civil chief of MINUSTAH, Hédi Annabi, who added that “it is totally unacceptable that the acts of a few tarnish the reputation of the mission.”

When serving as Secretary General of the UN, Koffi Annan (formerly responsible for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations) declared “zero tolerance” for all personnel working in United Nations’ peacekeeping operations, urging member States to do the same with their national contingents. That is where the legal incoherence lies.

The blue berets, in all peacekeeping operation territories, can only be prosecuted by the military jurisdictions of their own countries, and not by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It seems clear that a tribunal is necessary to try the perpetrators of these brutal acts, these attacks against human dignity, particularly against women. Rape is not a prerequisite for peacekeeping...

Sources:

Open Letter to the president of the Republic, CONAP, 19/11/07

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