I don't know what's worse. The sex abuse problem or the fact that the right is trying to use it as fuel for their crusade against the UN.
And what are these "discussion groups" Tinsley speaks of?
I'm sure this is where he saw it:
UN Rapists, Impeach Bush, Cindy Sheehan & Kanye West
And the original article:
Report says men in authority trading for sex with girls in Liberia
Highlights abuse by peacekeepers
By Alphonso Toweh, Reuters | May 9, 2006
MONROVIA, Liberia -- UN peacekeepers, aid workers, and teachers are having sex with Liberian girls as young as 8 for money, food or favors, threatening efforts to rebuild a nation wrecked by war, a report said yesterday.
Save the Children UK said an alarming number of girls were being sexually exploited by men in authority in refugee camps and in the wider community, sometimes for as little as a bottle of beer, a ride in an aid vehicle or watching a film.
''This cannot continue," Save the Children UK Chief Executive Jasmine Whitbread said. ''Men who use positions of power to take advantage of vulnerable children must be reported and fired."
The 20-page document said local people reported sexual exploitation by peacekeepers in every location where a contingent of the UNMIL peacekeeping force was stationed, highlighting the continuing problem of sex abuse by UN forces.
Allegations of sexual misconduct have dogged UN operations in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the world body has accused members of its biggest peacekeeping force of rape, pedophilia and giving children food or money in return for sex.
The UN force in Liberia said in a statement eight cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving UN personnel had been reported since the start of 2006.
One of those had been substantiated and the member of staff suspended.
''We are appalled with any activity, the sexual exploitation or abuse by aid workers, be they international or Liberian. It's unacceptable behavior," Jordan Ryan, UN humanitarian coordinator in Liberia, told BBC radio from Monrovia.
Save the Children urged Liberia's new government, UN agencies and donors to set up a government-led ombudsman office to ensure sex abuse allegations are investigated.
Countries which contribute troops to the UN force should also ensure soldiers who sexually exploited children are charged and those found guilty removed from the force, it said.
The report highlighted the relationship between food aid, poverty and sex, in particular accusations that some men involved in distributing food rations demanded sex in return.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
