Disquiet over prostitutes and peacekeepers report

A UNITED NATIONS report alleging Irish peacekeepers in Africa used prostitutes, including a 15-year-old girl, was compiled without interviewing any of the seven accused, it emerged yesterday.

Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Colm Mangan has ordered an investigation into the claims that members solicited the prostitutes while stationed in Eritrea.

A Military Police team is conducting the investigation at UN headquarters in the capital Asmara after the defence forces received the report, which included interviews with the local women.

While the Defence Forces are describing the allegations as “very serious”, sources said there was no suggestion any of the women were coerced into having sex.

On the most serious allegation, relating to the 15-year-old girl, it is not alleged the soldiers knew or were told her age.

All seven will be interviewed and, according to a forces spokesman, “face severe consequences” if the allegations are proven. A senior officer and three investigators will also interview the women in Eritrea.

“Our ethos is to respect local communities where we serve on overseas missions, especially in relation to women, who may be vulnerable,” said the spokesman.

The allegations follow the scandal last year when a soldier forced a young Eritrean women to appear in a pornographic film. The soldier has been dismissed from the forces.

The latest report does not relate to personnel serving in the African country, where 700 Irish soldiers have served over the past two years.

Privately, there is disquiet within the Defence Forces over the way the UN investigation was conducted.

“There are issues around how they were identified because they were not in the mission area when this investigation was conducted,” one source said. “Nobody spoke to them and nobody physically pointed them out.”

The Eritrean government has moved to clamp down on a growing sex industry around the UN camp.