By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 7 -- French soldiers in the Central African Republic allegedly sexually abused children, as exposed in a UN report leaked by staffer Anders Kompass. After more than nine months, no action has been taken -- no interviews of victims or alleged perpetrators were done -- other than the UN suspending Kompass for the leak. On May 7, Inner City Press asked the UN more questions about this.
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, contrary to what French prosecutor Francois Molins is saying -- that the UN refusing to lift immunity delayed even the French investigation -- said that the UN is cooperating.
Inner City Press asked for the second time about the UN Dispute Tribunal decision which says clearly, in Paragraph 9, that UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous urged the leaker to resign.
Dujarric said he doesn't accept that statement in the UNDT decision as true (it is UNclear if the UN is appealing.). But, Inner City Press said, there is a simple way to resolve this: just asked Ladsous if he urged Kompass' resignation, and if so, why.
Dujarric, who speaks for the UN Secretariat, did not answer that, only repeating he does not accept the UNDT document as true. He was scheduled for a closed door briefing of the UN Security Council, including on CAR, later on May 7. We will be there. Is Ladsous taking the Fifth?
SRSG Bangura told Inner City Press that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (and UNICEF) did not share with her Office their report about alleged child rape by French soldiers in CAR.
First, Ms. Bangura told Inner City Press her Office has no jurisdiction because it is "DPKO," the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
But the UN has been trying to distance itself from the scandal by saying it had nothing to do with DPKO.
(The UN still refuses to explain or answer why DPKO chief Herve Ladsous, a long time French diplomat, appears in the UN Dispute Tribunal order reinstating the leaker as having urged that the leaker "resign" or be fired. Ladsous will brief the Security Council, including on CAR, later on May 7 - we'll have more on this.)
Inner City Press told Bangura, this is not DPKO, these are French soldiers in the Central African Republic. Same answer: no jurisdiction. The UN Spokesman seemed to say, it's in the mandate.
We'll check - but if so, if this UN Office on Sexual Violence and Conflict does not cover French soldiers demanding sex from children for food, that what good is the Office?
We'll have more on this. (Bangura also spoke, movingly, about the plight of women and children in the Islamic State area, including the inability to get birth documents which she said is a problem through the region.)
The UN Dispute Tribunal has issued an order reinstating Kompass to his position. (Inner City Press has put the full Order online here; Guardian coverage here.) Tellingly, the order says in Paragraph 9 that the request that Kompass resign for having leaked and made public pedophilia by French solder was "made by the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations."
