MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the report, which was passed by Paula Donovan, a representative of the Aids Free World advocacy group, to the Guardian earlier today, some boys were sexually exploited in exchange for food and money between December 2013 and June 2014.
"One staff member has been placed on administrative leave with full pay pending the results of an investigation," the UN said in a statement published on its website.
"The unedited version [of the report] was… provided unofficially by that staff member to the French authorities in late July."
The report included the identities of victims, witnesses and investigators. According to UN protocol, it is obligatory to redact the information that could pose a risk to these three groups before making a report available to third parties.
The statement also said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would be investigated for "handling of this matter" and whether confidential preliminary findings were revealed to French officials.
The United Nations voted to deploy a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic in light of the escalating conflict between the largely Muslim Seleka rebels and government forces in April 2014. The UN peacekeepers joined the 2,000 French troops already on the ground.
