UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations said yesterday it had received new allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation against UN peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.
There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in Central African Republic, where the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSCA, assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Burundian peacekeepers had been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl earlier this month, while a Moroccan soldier had been accused of engaging in an exploitative sexual relationship with a woman in February.
Dujarric said Morocco and Burundi had been notified of the allegations. Once notified, a state has 10 days to tell the United Nations if it intends to investigate the accusations. If it does not, the world body will conduct its own inquiry.
“The Moroccans so far have indicated that they will investigate,” Dujarric said.
A UN peacekeeping spokesman said Burundi had until the end of the week to report back on whether it could conduct an inquiry.
The United Nations pledged to crack down on allegations of abuse to avoid a repeat of past mistakes. The previous head of the UN mission in Central African Republic, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month.
