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Antony orders probe into charges against peacekeepers

NEW DELHI: The United Nations has accused the Indian Army troops of sexual exploitation, including child abuse, while on peacekeeping duty in Congo.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has demanded severe “disciplinary action” prompting Defence Minister A. K. Antony to order a prompt and time-bound investigation into the charges. “I would like the allegations to be promptly investigated in a time-bound manner,” said a statement by the Minister.

It referred to the “outcome of a U.N. probe that has revealed prima facie evidence that a number of Indian peacekeepers may have engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse” and the “subsequent remarks of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.”

The troops under the sexual misdemeanour charge have since been withdrawn and sent back to the country. The U.N. has imposed a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse and exploitation by its peacekeepers.

India is the third largest contributor of troops for U.N. peacekeeping missions and this is the first time its men are facing charges of this nature. The Army’s Congo mission has been probed several times recently. But this time the charges are grave. Following a compliant by a non-governmental organisation, a U.N. body found merit in the charge that about 60 Indian Army personnel allegedly indulged in child prostitution near their camp in Congo from mid 2007 to early this year. India joined the peacekeeping mission in Congo in 1999 and has contributed about 800 troops.

The Army sought to put a lid on the matter but the issue came out in the open following comments by the Secretary-General after examining a report by the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Aware of the probe being carried out by the U.N., Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. M. L. Naidu, quietly visited Congo towards the end of May and asked the brigade commander to conduct an internal probe.

The Army is committed to ensuring that necessary disciplinary action is taken against the individuals, if proved guilty, said an officer. It has also sought details of the U.N. inquiry to “corroborate and augment the internal inquiry being conducted by the Indian Army”.

The western media has been accusing the Pakistani and Indian troops in Congo of “widespread abuse” for quite sometime. However, the U.N. let off the Army lightly of charges of ivory and gold trafficking.

PTI reports from the U.N.:

Mr. Ban has welcomed the India’s assurance that it would take “strict and exemplary” action against any erring member of the peacekeeping contingent in Congo.

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