Community Take: Betrayal of Trust: How UN Peacekeepers Exploit The Vulnerable in Times of Crisis
By Giselle Gabriel (she/her)
Content Warning: This piece talks about extreme and systemic sexual violence.
Giselle Gabriel is a community contributor. If you have a short piece of writing on a current event or policy issue, or creative work you think would be a fit for our journal, you can submit your work here (Brandeis email required). Opinions expressed in community articles are solely the contributor's and don't necessarily reflect the views of the OAJ.
“I could not fight back”. I felt outside of my body like I did not have all my senses,” said Marie Badeau from Congo. “I thought they were coming to provide security for real. When they came, we see that they came to rape people,” said a young lady from Haiti. “I walked by and suddenly one of them grabbed me by my arms and the other one ripped off my clothes. They pulled me into the tall grass, and one held my arms while the other one pinned down my legs and raped me. The soldier holding my arms tried to hold my mouth, but I was still able to scream. Because of that they had to run away before the second soldier could rape me.” said a 14-year-old girl from Central Africa. It appears that United Nations (UN) peacekeeping has a sexual abuse problem that must be halted immediately.
How did we reach a point where those tasked with safeguarding and aiding the vulnerable are now the ones inflicting harm and perpetuating injustices? In conflict zones or disaster areas, there is often chaos, disruption, and civil unrest. Therefore, it is common to witness foreign peacekeepers arriving in army uniforms and blue helmets, with the aim of providing security and supporting peacebuilding efforts in the affected country. However, some months after the dust has settled a new group called “peace babies” arises, fathered by UN peacekeepers in the dawn of the aftermath that often remains in the shadows. The lesser-known tale is that of the women who are left in misery with babies in their hands to raise children alone after their peacekeeper fathers return home, hidden behind stories of kindness, bravery, and gratitude.
Haiti, an island nation paralyzed by multiple crises, has had an ongoing 13-year relationship with the UN. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, was established with the goals of strengthening Haiti's governmental institutions, upholding the rule of law, promoting and defending human rights, and restoring a safe and stable environment. However, there was controversy surrounding the mission in Haiti, with claims of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeeping forces in exchange for necessities. Two hundred and sixty-five (265) women shared accounts of having children fathered by UN peacekeepers, with some girls as young as 11 years old left to raise these children alone in extreme poverty. Many vulnerable women in Haiti were sexually abused and used as leverage in exchange for food or cash that were meant to be part of the UN-mandated humanitarian supplies. They were ultimately made even more vulnerable when they became pregnant because of this abuse.
Marie, a 14-year-old who was attending a Christian school, became pregnant in 2015 after a relationship with a Brazilian soldier stationed in Haiti as a UN peacekeeper. Despite his initial promise to assist her, the soldier returned to Brazil and ceased all communication. Upon discovering Marie's pregnancy, her father compelled her to vacate their home, leaving her homeless and necessitating her to find refuge with her sister. Stripped of her childhood, this young woman grapples with the task of supporting her son, earning an insufficient income that hardly meets their necessities. She lacks financial assistance with housing and school fees, and as such is unable to provide her son with comfortable housing or an education. Research revealed that the age of consent in Haiti is 15 years, therefore, Marie, being underage, lacked the legal capacity to consent to a relationship with the soldier, leaving her exposed to exploitation and intimidation. However, did the soldier face consequences? No, yet another one left in the shadows.
In numerous news reports and videos, Haitian single mothers bemoan the stigma attached to having a child with light skin tone and the absence of a father, as well as their anguish at having to care for children fathered by UN peacekeepers on their own. However, this problem isn't isolated to Haiti. A ccusations of similar misconduct seem to arise wherever peacekeepers are deployed. In Congo, at least 35 children were fathered by UN forces. The youngest mother was a ten-year-old girl. Eleven UN peacekeepers stationed in the Central African Republic were facing allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation as of June 2023. While investigations are still ongoing, initial data suggested that four victims, two of whom are thought to be children, had been exploited and abused by the Tanzanian peacekeeping unit. Will this cycle of misconduct by UN peacekeepers ever end? Will UN peacekeepers ever allow children to experience a normal childhood and women to live without fear, in times of crisis, when they most desperately need aid from those mandated to provide it? These questions linger, leaving one to ponder the possibility of change as over the past 15 years, over 1,700 incident s of sexual assault against UN peacekeepers have been documented; yet only 53 blue helmets have been formally prosecuted .
To address the problem of misconduct and exploitation within peacekeeping operations, the UN has intensified its efforts. It now publishes the nationalities of guilty peacekeepers and offers some sort of assistance to survivors. Nonetheless, this is ineffective, inadequate, and is not enough to address the systemic problem of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. Survivors find it hard to speak out because of the shame and stigma in society, along with the economic difficulties and emotional struggles they face. The developing countries lack support and guidance to help the survivors navigate through this challenging time. Efforts are needed to meet the ongoing economical and psychological needs of abuse survivors and their children. Contributing countries must take further action to enhance their legal systems by emphasizing essential upgrades such as robust systems to investigate, prosecute, and punish peacekeepers for sexual exploitation and abuse. They must p rovide survivors with effective and reliable free legal assistance to enable them to pursue justice and in addition must update their laws to improve coordination for formal courts and traditional justice to work together. Furthermore, to increase transparency regarding peacekeeper misconduct, countries should also enhance their data collection efforts on the matter.
Contributing countries should boost the involvement of women in peacekeeping positions. Research shows that countries deploying more female peacekeepers to UN missions and promoting gender equality in their armed forces and law enforcement agencies typically have lower incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse by their peacekeepers. This is because female peacekeepers and gender-balanced security forces are less prone to exploiting or mistreating local women and girls. Furthermore, female peacekeepers can offer improved assistance and establish stronger connections with female victims of abuse.
A collaborative effort involving local survivors and advocates, international human rights organizations, UN member states, and UN leadership is essential to consistently pressure contributing countries to meet their obligations in preventing and addressing sexual exploitation and abuse by their peacekeepers. This multi-stakeholder approach is vital for driving substantial changes aimed at fostering safer conditions for vulnerable communities in conflict zones.
This OpEd was first published on 05/24/2024 on brandeiswps.wordpress.com.
