WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Amnesty International acknowledged that the statement by its senior crisis response adviser Joanne Mariner had also been published as an opinion-editorial in the London newspaper The Guardian.
Amnesty international claims three million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries, and works to protect human rights around the world, according to the organization’s website.
"[T]he sex abuse scandals have continued," Amnesty International stated in a press release issued on Thursday. "On Wednesday, the UN revealed more allegations of abuse of girls or young women by peacekeepers in CAR [the Central African Republic]."
Earlier in August, Amnesty International announced that it had uncovered "credible evidence" that another UN peacekeeper in the CAR had raped a 12-year-old girl.
"Her claims are supported by medical evidence," Amnesty International said.
The organization noted that similar reports had surfaced a decade, ago and had been condemned by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who announced a zero tolerance policy for such offenses.
The human rights group noted that current UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also made clear his disgust at such activities, and had fired the head of the UN peacekeeping mission to the CAR.
"Sadly, it has become crystal clear over the past two decades that CAR is not the only country where sexual crimes have been carried out by the very individuals charged with protecting the local population from harm."
Amnesty International said a recent study documented that troops in the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti had engaged in "transactional sex" with at least 229 women in exchange for food and medication.
"The same study said that between 2008 and 2013, nearly 500 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse had been made against UN peacekeeping personnel, one-third of which involved minors."
Almost none of those suspected for crimes of sexual violence face a real threat of criminal prosecution for their crimes, according to the study cited in the statement.
"At the UN, many cases do not receive a thorough and immediate investigation. But even if a UN inquiry finds a suspect responsible for rape, there are almost no consequences."
It added that because of questionable rules regarding peacekeeper immunity, the onus is generally on the troop-contributing country to undertake prosecutions, but they rarely, if ever, do.
