UN Peacekeeping Chief In Central African Republic Resigns

Gen Babakar Gaye, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's military adviser.

The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic has resigned, at the request of the U.N. secretary-general, over the force's handling of a series of sexual and other misconduct allegations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking with unusual force, said Wednesday he has accepted the resignation of Babacar Gaye of Senegal and declared, "Enough is enough." He has called a special session of the U.N. Security Council for Thursday over the issue of sexual abuse allegations that has rocked the world body.

"I cannot put into words how anguished and angered and ashamed I am by recurrent reports over the years of reports of sex abuse and exploitation by U.N. forces," Ban said. "I will not tolerate any action that causes people to replace trust with fear."

Reuters report continues:

He said he also will hold a special meeting Thursday with the heads of all peacekeeping missions around the world to stress their responsibilities to "report allegations immediately, investigate through and act decisively."

The problem of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers is not limited to one mission, the U.N. chief said. "Sexual exploitation and abuse is a global scourge and a systemic challenge that demands a systemic response." He urged victims to come forward and not be ashamed: "Shame belongs to the perpetrators."

The rare resignation of a peacekeeping mission chief comes a day after Amnesty International accused U.N. peacekeepers in Central African Republic's capital of indiscriminately killing a 16-year-old boy and his father and raping a 12-year-old girl in separate incidents this month.

That follows allegations that U.N. peacekeepers had sexually abused street children in Bangui and a separate allegation of child sexual abuse against a peacekeeper in the eastern part of the country.

In an email Wednesday, the legal director of Médecins Sans Frontières, Francoise Bouchet-Saulnier, said that "since September 2014, MSF has treated a total of four minors who reported sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeeping forces in three separate cases" in Central African Republic. That includes the 12-year-old girl in the latest allegations.

"The outrageous and indecent actions of a few people tarnish the heroic work of tens of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers and personnel," Ban said. "Every allegation must be thoroughly investigated."

The U.N. mission in Central African Republic is also being investigated over how it handled child sexual abuse allegations against French troops last year, in which children as young as 9 said they had traded sodomy and oral sex for food. Ban said he was looking forward to the independent panel's findings soon.

The U.N., however, has no powers of criminal investigation or prosecution, leaving it up to peacekeepers' home countries — which U.N. officials often don't name publicly.

Ban in the past has expressed his interest in starting to "name and shame" the countries whose peacekeepers are accused of misconduct, though calling out countries has its risks. The U.N. has no standing army and relies on member states to contribute troops and police for its missions.