The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has announced strong measures against peacekeepers suspected of serious misconduct.
According to internal documents from MONUSCO, eight peacekeepers deployed in Beni, in the eastern DRC, were arrested on October 1st, and an officer was suspended on October 8th as part of a case involving alleged sexual exploitation and violence.
All of them belong to the South African contingent of the UN force and may be implicated in what internal reports describe as a systematic and widespread violation of UN rules against exploitation and sexual abuse.
MONUSCO said the Office of Internal Oversight Services has been informed, and interim measures including suspension, detention, and confinement of the concerned peacekeepers, in line with the UN Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy.
The DRC government has demanded an accelerated departure of the UN force starting from December of this year, as it accuses the force of not having been able to put an end to the violence by armed groups after 25 years of presence.
