UN peacekeepers in Haiti ‘fathered hundreds of babies’ with young girls
18 December 2019
United Nations peacekeepers deployed in Haiti, including Sri Lankan soldiers, have fathered hundreds of babies with young mothers - sometimes through sexual violence - before abandoning them, reports a new study published this week.
The study, published today on The Conversation, says that “girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated by peacekeepers and . . . ‘left in misery’ to raise their children alone”.
That includes Sri Lankan peacekeepers linked to a paedophilic sex ring in Haiti, where at least 134 soldiers exploited nine children from 2004 to 2006. The Sri Lankan military repatriated 114 of the soldiers after a group of children identified them as paedophiles, but none have ever been prosecuted.
Authored by Sabine Lee and Susan Bartels, the study interviewed approximately 2,500 Haitians about their experiences with regards to the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti - also referred to as MINUSTAH. Of those, 265 told stories that featured children fathered by UN personnel.
One male community member in Cité Soleil said,
“All day, I heard women who are complaining about the sexual violence that MINUSTAH did to them. And they had given them AIDS through sexual violence. There are also some of them who are pregnant”.
Another in Port Salut said,
“They had sex with the girls not even for money, it’s just for food, for one meal.”
Earlier this year the UN declared a ban on all “non-essential” Sri Lankan troops from its peacekeeping missions after accused war criminal Shavendra Silva was appointed to the head of Sri Lanka’s army. However, in a surprise move last month, the global body said hundreds more Sri Lankan soldiers would be joining its mission in Mali, claiming they were “critical” to operations in the country.
18 December 2019
United Nations peacekeepers deployed in Haiti, including Sri Lankan soldiers, have fathered hundreds of babies with young mothers - sometimes through sexual violence - before abandoning them, reports a new study published this week.
The study, published today on The Conversation, says that “girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated by peacekeepers and . . . ‘left in misery’ to raise their children alone”.
That includes Sri Lankan peacekeepers linked to a paedophilic sex ring in Haiti, where at least 134 soldiers exploited nine children from 2004 to 2006. The Sri Lankan military repatriated 114 of the soldiers after a group of children identified them as paedophiles, but none have ever been prosecuted.
Authored by Sabine Lee and Susan Bartels, the study interviewed approximately 2,500 Haitians about their experiences with regards to the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti - also referred to as MINUSTAH. Of those, 265 told stories that featured children fathered by UN personnel.
One male community member in Cité Soleil said,
“All day, I heard women who are complaining about the sexual violence that MINUSTAH did to them. And they had given them AIDS through sexual violence. There are also some of them who are pregnant”.
Another in Port Salut said,
“They had sex with the girls not even for money, it’s just for food, for one meal.”
Earlier this year the UN declared a ban on all “non-essential” Sri Lankan troops from its peacekeeping missions after accused war criminal Shavendra Silva was appointed to the head of Sri Lanka’s army. However, in a surprise move last month, the global body said hundreds more Sri Lankan soldiers would be joining its mission in Mali, claiming they were “critical” to operations in the country.
