UN sex abuse scandal gathers momentum

LINKED in the past to sex crimes in East Timor, and prostitution in Cambodia and Kosovo, UN peacekeepers have been accused of sexually abusing the population they were deployed to protect in Congo.

While the 150 claims of rape, paedophilia and solicitation in Congo may be the UN's worst sex scandal in years, chronic problems almost guarantee few suspects will face serious punishment. The problem is simple: the UN often implores nations to discipline their peacekeepers, but it has little power to enforce the rules. When nations are reluctant anyway to contribute soldiers for dangerous missions like Congo, it's tough to turn the tables and shame them publicly.

"The UN goes around trying to cajole countries to provide peacekeepers," said Edward Luck, a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. "They're having a hard time getting member states to respond, and that doesn't give the UN a great deal of leverage in these kinds of situations."