UN sets up review of CAR child abuse by peacekeepers
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has set up an independent external review to investigate the world body's handling of a child sexual abuse scandal by its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Ban’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that the UN chief’s “intention in setting up this review is to ensure that the United Nations does not fail the victims of sexual abuse, especially when committed by those who are meant to protect them.”
This comes as the UN faces accusations that it failed to act quickly over the abuse case.
Meanwhile, in a separate development on Wednesday, Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, Paris prosecutor's office spokeswoman, said the office has received documents linked to a military investigation of sexual abuse by French soldiers against CAR children.
Thibault-Lecuivre, however, noted that the documents will not be made public during the judicial investigation.
Back in May, France launched an inquiry into the child abuse by its troops in the Central African Republic, saying that 14 French soldiers were under investigation.
A UN report revealed in April that troops from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea, working as UN peacekeepers in the CAR, allegedly engaged in the sexual abuse of hungry refugee children at a center for internally-displaced people in the African country’s capital, Bangui, between December 2013 and June 2014.
Over 1,000 people have been killed in CAR since December 2013, when Christian militia began coordinated attacks against the country's mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government in March that year.
Paris deployed troops to its former colony in December 2013 under the pretext of helping African Union peacekeepers restore order following the outbreak of the violence there.
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