Court martial for guilty peacekeepers

The peacekeepers accused of securing sexual services from minors in Haiti, in exchange for money, will be court-martialled, if found guilty, Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told The Sunday Times. Triggered by the United Nations’ zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse, the UN Security Council and the Government of Sri Lanka have launched two separate investigations on the 108 Sri Lankan peacekeepers to probe the allegations of sexual misconduct. Brigadier Nanayakkara said the team of two brigadiers and two colonels which conducted a preliminary investigation in Haiti had been able to confirm the involvement of only three peacekeepers in sexual misconduct. He said the team was unable to locate more than three women who were willing to testify against the Sri Lankan peacekeepers.

“Three more soldiers were found guilty of providing misinformation to the court. Further investigations are proceeding to probe the allegations against the other peacekeepers, who are currently confined to their regiments,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Times learned that the UN Security Council is conducting an open investigation to probe alleged involvement of the peacekeepers in the running of six brothels, trafficking of sex workers to other countries and production of child pornography.

Allegedly, the peacekeepers were helping a local businessman in the management of six brothels, which employed child sex workers. While earning a profit from this venture, the peacekeepers have reportedly sold minors in marriage to elderly German and Swedish expatriates based in Thailand.

The UN investigation in Haiti is being handled by the Office of Internal Oversight Service, known as the OIOS. The UN will not blacklist Sri Lanka in future peacekeeping operations, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations media spokesperson Nick Birnback told The Sunday Times.“We look at all potential contributions to peacekeeping missions on an individual basis. And in the past, we have received exemplary cooperation from the Sri Lankan authorities,” he said.

The Sri Lankan peacekeepers were dismissed after the preliminary investigation, where the UN showed individual pictures of the entire battalion to the villagers. 108 soldiers who were identified as guilty by the villagers were then sent back to Sri Lanka. This is the largest number of peacekeepers who have been repatriated on one occasion. “The UN mission in Haiti and the peacekeeping force deemed the evidence found in the preliminary investigative report adequate to call for the repatriation of the Sri Lankan contingent members,” Mr. Birnback said.

In spite of strong evidence against the Sri Lankan peacekeepers, government authorities are questioning the grounds, on which the soldiers were dismissed, claiming that after the troops limited the supply of excess food that was made available to the civilians, the rapport between the two parties slipped to a low level.“The UN is dealing in close consultation with the ground forces and the Sri Lankan authorities to deal with this issue and grant compensation to the victims,” Mr. Birnback concluded.