The UN chief said 16 UN personnel were confirmed dead in the earthquake that shook Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, with 100-150 UN workers still unaccounted for, including the mission chief and his deputy.

The United Nations investigated more than 300 members of UN peacekeeping missions for alleged sexual exploitation and abuse during the past three years and more than half were fired or sent home, a senior UN official said.

United Nations peacekeepers in southern Sudan reportedly face several allegations of raping and sexually abusing children, some as young as 12.