French Army Investigates an Allegation of Sex Abuse in Central African Republic
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Version 0 of 1. UNITED NATIONS — Amid an uproar over a leaked United Nations inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse by French troops posted in the Central African Republic, France confirmed on Wednesday that it was looking into whether some of its soldiers had abused children in its former colony, but said nothing about whether or when they might face prosecution. The French Defense Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said it had received a report about the allegations last July and had begun an investigation, still underway. The statement said there were accusations that 10 children had been sexually abused at the M’poko airport, in the capital, Bangui, between December 2013 and last June. The airport at the time was a crowded, desperate camp of people who had fled clashes in other parts of the capital. The airport was guarded by French troops who were sent to Bangui late in 2013 to quell a spreading sectarian conflict. “If the facts are proven, the strongest penalties will be imposed on those responsible for what would be an intolerable breach of soldiers’ values,” the Defense Ministry statement read. The allegations surfaced Wednesday after The Guardian published an article about disciplinary proceedings taken against a United Nations employee accused of leaking the allegations to the French authorities. The AIDS-Free World coalition, which leaked the inquiry to The Guardian, said the victims were all boys, and that some had given partial names of the accused soldiers. Up to 16 soldiers may have been involved. A United Nations spokesman, Farhan Haq, said Wednesday that one of its employees had shared that report with the French authorities last July, even before senior officials in his own agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, had seen it and had a chance to address it. The report that was shared with the French contained names of victims and witnesses; Mr. Haq called the leak a “serious breach of protocol.” The United Nations employee, Anders Kompass, was placed on administrative leave in mid-April, pending the inquiry. Mr. Kompass, a Swede, could not be reached for comment. The Swedish Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said it hoped the United Nations would conduct its investigation in an “independent and impartial manner.” Some criticized the United Nations for being focused on the employee who leaked the allegations, rather than focusing on the victims and ensuring that the accused abusers are held accountable. The case also raises the sticky issue of how the United Nations handles whistleblowers. According to United Nations policy, employees are considered whistleblowers only if they report wrongdoing “through appropriate internal channels” and give the organization “a reasonable time period” to respond before taking it to an outside organization. In this case, the United Nations says Mr. Kompass did not give the organization a chance to respond. |