WikiLeaks: UN Peacekeepers Traded Food For Sex By LAURA BURKE 09/ 1/11 11:06 AM ET AP
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- United Nations peacekeepers in Ivory Coast enticed underage girls in a poor part of the West African nation to exchange sex for food, according to a United States Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks.
The cable written in January 2010 focuses on the behavior of Beninese peacekeepers stationed in the western town of Toulepleu, an area that has been at the crosshairs of the nation's 10-year-long conflict.
A random poll of 10 underage girls in Toulepleu by aid group Save The Children U.K. in 2009 found that eight performed sexual acts for Benin peacekeepers on a regular basis in order to secure their most basic needs. "Eight of the 10 said they had ongoing sexual relationships with Beninese soldiers in exchange for food or lodging," the diplomat wrote in the cable, citing information shared with the embassy by a protection officer.
On Tuesday, United Nations spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux confirmed that in April, 16 Beninese peacekeepers were repatriated to Benin and are barred from serving in the U.N. following a yearlong investigation.
"We see it as a command and control problem," said Bonnardeaux who spoke by telephone from New York. Of the 16, 10 were commanders and the rest were soldiers.
The commanders, he said, "failed to maintain an environment that prevents sexual exploitation and abuse."
Sexual misconduct by U.N. troops has been reported in a number of countries including Congo, Cambodia and Haiti – as well as in an earlier incident involving Moroccan peacekeepers in Ivory Coast.
In 2007, a 730-strong battalion of peacekeepers from Morocco was asked to suspend its activities in the northern Ivorian city of Bouake after the U.N. received allegations of sexual misconduct involving local girls.
A report published a year later by Save the Children U.K. identified Ivory Coast as one of the places where sexual barter between peacekeepers and girls was occurring. The peacekeepers traded food as well as mobile phones for sex, the report said............................................>>>>.......................................>>>>.....................................................http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/wikileaks-un-peacekeepers_n_944917.html
you MUST be at the bottom of the food chain......I can't think of anyother reason you would say that......if I had a magnifying glass ......well you know.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
How quickly they forget the oil for food fraud that the UN was involved in.
Good point, lets not forget the sanctions that have proven to show they only hurt the civilians not the leadership.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
When the UN is involved, the Rabid Right are very critical. The UN Mistakes are forever etched in stone and displayed on the mantle for everyone to see.
How about a few other 'mistakes'.
Lets see... any one remember... WMD'S? How about YELLOW CAKE FROM NIGER??? NO? Anyone??? Bueller??? Conservatives must have been absent from class that day. How about Ronny the RayGun and his "Iran Contra" disaster??? Oh come on, you must remember that one??? HUH? Selective memory.
Ok one more chance... Some one here must remember the disaster called Katrina??? Or how about 10% unemployment under Reagan? NO? How about going from $1trillion in debt from all US presidents combined, to $3Trillion by Reagan?Bush?
OK. The typical Conservative amnesia kicks in when ever Republicans screw up, but ask about a UN mistake and they'll show ya it engraved on their granny's tombstone! ******************** Back to the subject... with out the UN operating in this world, even with all it's limitations and failures, there would be a lot of dead innocent civilians and a lot more US wars.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
The UN should be abolished, when you go to the UN and ask for sanctions against a country doing something that endangers the world, a country like Russia, will vote against the action to protect it's own interests. The UN has done a lot to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear country, oh wait they are now a nuclear country. When the UN calls for action against a country it's the USA that provides the planes, money, and the most soldiers while the rest of the members send a token few to help with the effort. The UN is a paper tiger and the world knows it.
When the UN is involved, the Rabid Right are very critical. The UN Mistakes are forever etched in stone and displayed on the mantle for everyone to see.
How about a few other 'mistakes'.
Lets see... any one remember... WMD'S? How about YELLOW CAKE FROM NIGER??? NO? Anyone??? Bueller??? Conservatives must have been absent from class that day. How about Ronny the RayGun and his "Iran Contra" disaster??? Oh come on, you must remember that one??? HUH? Selective memory.
Ok one more chance... Some one here must remember the disaster called Katrina??? Or how about 10% unemployment under Reagan? NO? How about going from $1trillion in debt from all US presidents combined, to $3Trillion by Reagan?Bush?
OK. The typical Conservative amnesia kicks in when ever Republicans screw up, but ask about a UN mistake and they'll show ya it engraved on their granny's tombstone! ******************** Back to the subject... with out the UN operating in this world, even with all it's limitations and failures, there would be a lot of dead innocent civilians and a lot more US wars.
And its not like every one of your posts does nothing but bash the right... Give me a break. 3 trillion debt under Reagan/Bush very true... Just like the 4 trillion in 2.5 years under Obama...of course, we don't see that from any of your posts... If Barry wants to be like Ronny on unemployment, he better get moving quick..like getting down to 8.3% by the end of the year.
"Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious." - Author Unknown
The UN should be abolished, when you go to the UN and ask for sanctions against a country doing something that endangers the world, a country like Russia, will vote against the action to protect it's own interests. The UN has done a lot to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear country, oh wait they are now a nuclear country. When the UN calls for action against a country it's the USA that provides the planes, money, and the most soldiers while the rest of the members send a token few to help with the effort. The UN is a paper tiger and the world knows it.
Shadow, you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't agree.
UN Successes: During its 60-year history, the U.N. has achieved many remarkable accomplishments in fulfilling it goals. The U.N. has peacefully negotiated 172 peace settlements that have ended regional conflicts and is credited with participation in over 300 international treaties on topics as varied as human rights conventions to agreements on the use of outer space and the oceans.
The U.N. has also made great strides in raising the consciousness of human rights beginning with the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” adopted by the General Assembly in 1948. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights through its investigations and technical assistance in promoting free and fair elections has helped many countries in the transition to democracy. The U.N.’s intense attention to specific human rights abuses helped end apartheid in South Africa. In its humanitarian efforts, more than 30 million refugees fleeing war, persecution, or famine have received aid from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The International Court of Justice has helped settle numerous international disputes involving territorial issues, hostage-taking and economic rights.
Since the end of the Cold War, the U.N. has become increasingly involved in providing humanitarian assistance and promoting improvements in the health of the world’s peoples. In addition to providing relief for humanitarian crises caused by international conflicts, the U.N. can also respond to emergencies caused by natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. On a proactive level, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other U.N. affiliated groups have eliminated smallpox and are actively pursuing a battle against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria around the world. The WHO played a significant role in diagnosing and containing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. U.N. programs, like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have saved and enriched the lives of the world’s children through immunization programs for polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and tuberculosis. The lives of over 3 million children a year have been saved.
You can focus on the UN's shortcomings... and if you do you'll be wildly popular with your Conservative brethren, but I'll stick with all the UN successes.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
That's where we can agree the UN should restrict itself to humanitarian relief period. The UN is filled with corrupt officials who hate us and we should not trust them when it comes to any hostile action.
And its not like every one of your posts does nothing but bash the right... Give me a break. 3 trillion debt under Reagan/Bush very true... Just like the 4 trillion in 2.5 years under Obama...of course, we don't see that from any of your posts... If Barry wants to be like Ronny on unemployment, he better get moving quick..like getting down to 8.3% by the end of the year.
It's the hypocrisy... America still blames G Worst Bush for the present Economic Disaster... and so do I. IMO, if in 8 years, Obama can get the economy back to where it was before GWB took office, he wold be a huge success!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
If Barry wants to be like Ronny on unemployment, he better get moving quick..like getting down to 8.3% by the end of the year.
Barry will only accomplish this by creating government jobs. Ya know....the thing government does best. Just ask OMMLET!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
It's the hypocrisy... America still blames G Worst Bush for the present Economic Disaster... and so do I. IMO, if in 8 years, Obama can get the economy back to where it was before GWB took office, he wold be a huge success!
Americans have a short memory and GWB is NOT running for president. If the Dems try to tie the pub nominee to GWB, its a recipe for disaster. Unless Obama gets unemployment down to 8.5% by the conventions, he won't get another 4 years. In fact, unless he gets it down to under by 8% by election day, history says he won't win either.
"Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious." - Author Unknown
This Tuesday the White House released their Mid-Session Review admitting they made a $2 trillion miscalculation in the size of the federal deficit that President Barack Obama’s borrow and spend policies would inflict on our nation. Heritage senior policy analyst Brian Riedl details the carnage:
While President Obama claims to have inherited the 2009 budget deficit, it is important to note that the estimated 2009 budget deficit has increased by $400 billion since his inauguration, and the whole point of the “stimulus” was to increase deficit spending to nearly $2 trillion based on the unproven notion that would it alleviate the recession. The 22 percent spending increase projected for 2009 represents the largest government expansion since the 1952 height of the Korean War (adjusted for inflation). Federal spending is up 57 percent since 2001. In 2009, Washington will spend $30,958 per household–the highest level in American history–and under President Obama’s budget, the figure will rise above $33,000 by 2019. The White House brags that it will cut the deficit in half by 2013. The President does not mention that the deficit has nearly quadrupled this year. Merely cutting it in half from that bloated level would still leave budget deficits twice as high as under President Bush. The public national debt–$5.8 trillion as of 2008–is projected to double by 2012 and nearly triple by 2019. Thus, America would accumulate more government debt under President Obama than under every President in American history from George Washington to George W. Bush combined.