According to a new report U.N peacekeepers in Haiti have fathered hundreds of babies with Haiti girls, some as young as 11 years old.
‘They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby in you’
– Victim of UN Peacekeeper
For a little background into why the UN spent quite so long in Haiti here is an excerpt from The Conversation who originally published this damning report:
The UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) – the longest-running mission by the organisation in the country (2004-2017) – was originally mandated to assist local Haitian institutions in a context of political instability and organised crime. Its mandate was then extended due to natural disasters, most notably an earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, both of which added to the volatility of the political situation in the country. After 13 years of operation, MINUSTAH closed in October 2017, transitioning to the smaller UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti.
Sex for One Meal
Some sexual encounters between the local girls and UN peacekeeping personnel were described as sexual violence. But according to the study, the bigger problem was pervasive sex, offering small amounts of money or food for sex.
“They come, they sleep with the women, they take their pleasures with them, they leave children in their hands, give them 500 gourdes.”
“They had sex with the girls not even for money, it’s just for food, for one meal.”
Children with Children
The report indicates that UN Peacekeepers were not only abusing their role in Haiti with women, but also with Girls, some as young as 11.
“I see a series of females 12 and 13 years old here. MINUSTAH impregnated and left them in misery with babies in their hands. The person has already had to manage a stressful, miserable life”
More often than not, once the girls are pregnant the father abandons them and moves onto someone else or is relocated – whatever the reason the girls are often through desperation forced to continue their sexual slavery to provide money to support their new child – and so the cycle continues.
United Nations – More Harm Than Good
You can read the hundreds of witness accounts over in the study at The Conversation, but the question needs to be asked, is there any benefit whatsoever in having the UN Peacekeeping operations? Is the harm they inflict upon a society worth the good they offer?
Time and time again we hear about the failures of the UN Peacekeeping Operations and the atrocities performed at the hands of the peacekeeping personnel. Let’s just recap some of the historical crimes committed by the organisation, in no particular order:
Shock video of UN soldiers apparently raping a Haitian teenager raises questions about why these ‘peacekeepers’ are there at all – The Guardian, 2011
Fresh allegations of sexual abuse made against UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic – The UN.org
In Bosnia and Kosovo U.N. and NATO peacekeepers and police not only frequented brothels but also ran them and even help traffic women from Eastern Europe to work as prostitutes in the establishments. – Foreign Policy
A 13-year-old girl, “Elizabeth” described to the BBC how 10 UN peacekeepers gang-raped her in a field near her Ivory Coast home – BBC News
During a mission to Cambodia in 1992 and 1993, U.N. peacekeepers frequented brothels with such frequency that the number of prostitutes there increased from 6,000 to 25,000. – Foreign Policy
Interviews with community members in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone revealed that peacekeepers had withheld medical supplies, food, and water from desperate civilians until they offered them sexual favours. – The UN.org
I’d like to say that’s all I could find, however, it’s not – in fact, the list of failures by the United Nations seems never-ending and the with the same stories popping up every time. Sexual exploitation of young girls and boys, whether it’s through gang rape or pervasive means, both seem prominent where ever UN Peacekeepers are located.