UN Panel Says Fight Peacekeeper Misconduct With New Units

May 10, 2005 
Wall Street Journal
Original Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20050510_011463-search,00.html?collection=autowire%2F30day&vql_string=%27united+nations%27%3Cin%3E%28article%2Dbody%29
UNITED NATIONS (AP)--A U.N. committee recommended setting up personnel conduct units that would deploy to peacekeeping missions and at headquarters to combat sex abuse and other misconduct, according to a report released Tuesday.
The move, which would create 63 new U.N. posts, is meant to address widespread allegations of sexual misconduct by U.N. peacekeepers abroad. A U.N. review found that 105 allegations of sex abuse were leveled at peacekeepers last year.
The recommendation is one of several made by a General Assembly committee in response to a recent report by Prince Zeid al Hussein, Jordan's U.N. ambassador, who was charged with coming up with ways clamp down on sex abuse.
Zeid's report described the U.N. military arm as deeply flawed. Among his other suggestions, he proposed withholding salaries of the guilty and requiring nations to pursue legal action against perpetrators.
Allegations of sexual abuse and other crimes have dogged U.N. peacekeeping missions almost since their inception in 1948. But the issue gained new focus when the U.N. announced last year it was investigating dozens of allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in Congo.
The problem has also gained more attention because of action in the U.S. Congress. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., has proposed a bill that would require troop-contributing nations to have codes of conduct in place. Otherwise, the U.S. would withhold funding for missions.