The news that there were 69 cases of sexual cases by peacekeepers during United Nations missions across the world is shocking, especially considering the kind of work that the UN representatives should be undertaking in war torn countries. However, it is also a testament to the folly of human nature. The total number of cases was 99, but 69 of those were recorded on the UN missions.
Rape and sexual exploitation and abuse are serious matters and cannot be swept under the rug. The UN has to crack down on the perpetrators of these incidents and prosecute them under the law. The fact that it revealed the nationalities of the perpetrators proves that the body is not taking this lightly. An interesting point to note is that India has not been implicated anywhere as none of their 7798 peacekeepers were involved in the sexual abuse cases.
The 99 cases are only from one year, and this number shot high due to numbers coming in from missions in the central African republic called MINUSCA, which was only established in the latter half of 2014. Before that, the numbers were much lower.
The peacekeepers are those who stay in war torn countries and help sides maintain the conditions of the peace agreements as well as assist them in social development and more. The UN now has to ensure that these incidents of sexual abuse do not tar their good work across the world.
