Relief from Relief: Sexual Exploitation by Peacekeepers

by Relief from Relief · 2009-01-31 07:58:00 UTC
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Today, the first in a small series of rants about sexual exploitation and abuse of power in the humanitarian world, submitted by a friend working at a large NGO - a friend who has requested anonymity, and asked to go by the nom de guerre 'Relief from Relief'.

So, without further ado, Relief from Relief on Sexual Exploitation by Peacekeepers:

There has been a lot of the attention in the media in the past three years focused on sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers.  Jordanian, Pakistani, Moroccan, and Uruguayan peacekeepers in MONUC in the Democratic Republic of Congo were accused of buying children for sex, trading food for sex, and generally acting like all around jerks.

In MINUSTAH in Haiti, Sri Lankan peacekeepers were kicked out of the country for their behaviour.  (But maybe because they were needed at home for the last push of the LTTE offensive?)

In UNMIL, Russian peacekeepers (usually contractors) were spirited out of Liberia in the middle of the night after being accused of various bad doings.

In Juba, South Sudan, UNMIS soldiers were accused of picking up street children for sexual purposes.

In Bosnia, peacekeepers were accused of actually owning some of the women trafficked into the brothels put up there to service the loads of UN employees deployed there. Some of these were US contractors working for Dyncorp at the time.

Who got fired? The whistleblowers. Time and time again, allegations come out that these peacekeepers are up to no good! Yet we're always unable to get around the fact, despite copious amounts of evidence, that this is a legitimate problem that needs to be dealt with immediately.

Why is that?

Maybe it is because the name “Peacekeeper” conjures up kindly images of good sheriff John Wayne shooting evildoers and protecting little ladies and children from the encircling natives. Maybe if we called the peacekeepers by a more descriptive name, we wouldn’t be so shocked and horrified that they are raping women and abusing children.

For example, let’s call the MONUC’s recent addition, the Guatemalan Kaibiles, a specialized group within the Guatemalan Army whose nickname is Messengers of Death - DeathEnforcers.

Or if we want to carry our Western metaphor further – maybe we should call them "Peacemakers", the infamous name of the Colt 45 used by such legendary badass cowboys as Wyatt Earp.

[UN Peacekeepers in Haiti - Photo from Getty Images]

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