SUDAN: With UN Peacekeepers Accused of Rape in Sudan, UN Women & Ban Ki-Moon Adviser Won't Answer, Other Priorities

With UN peacekeepers accused of at least six rapes in Southern Kordofan in Sudan, what has the UN system done? So far, nothing.

Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky about the accusation, by former deputy governor of Southern Kordofan, on June 13. Nesirky responded about a different matter -- the UN abandoning a national staff member -- then moved on to other questions.

After asking Nesirky a second time on June 14 to no avail, Inner City Press asked the head of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, and Ban's Special Representative of Sexual Violence Margot Wallstrom, what their offices are doing about the allegation by former deputy governor al-Hilu's spokesman that “the Egyptian contingency in the area of raping six women. He said the incident took place after civilians fleeing the fighting took shelter at the headquarters of the peacekeeping force.”

Wallstrom's office e-mailed back that it is up to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations: "This is for DPKO to answer." Ms. Wallstrom herself, according to her Twitter account and confirmed by DPKO, is in her native Sweden. She has tweeted about TV appearances there.

UN Women did not respond directly to Inner City Press. Rather, Inner City Pres is informed, Ms. Bachelet contacted DPKO chief Alain Le Roy. This resulted not in any answer to the question, but rather a criticism of Inner City Press' way of asking questions.

Apparently, DPKO is too busy to investigate the allegation by a major Kordofan official that its peacekeepers raped civilians inside the UN compound. A phrase was used -- we have bigger priorities right now -- which militated for this interim article, along with the idea that the UN only has to investigate if a formal complaint is made to it.

What bigger priorities could the UN and its Peacekeeping Department have than ensure that its own peacekeepers are not committing rape of the civilians they were sent to protect?

How can the UN Office on Sexual Violence and Conflict not have a responsibility on these matters? Or UN Women? Watch this site.

From the UN's June 14, 2011 noon briefing transcript:

Inner City Press: I am sorry to do this, but it seemed kind of serious, what happened in Kadugli, the former Deputy Governor, Al-Hilu, through his spokesman has accused the Egyptian contingent in the area of raping six women. He said the incident took place after civilians fleeing the fighting took shelter at the headquarters of the peacekeeping force. I don't know if it's true, but it seems like it's a pretty serious allegation, and I just wanted to know…

Spokesperson: You mentioned that yesterday, and I really don't have anything on that topic. If I did, I would certainly have mentioned it today. I do not have anything on that.

Inner City Press: I just wanted to know, what is the protocol in the UN system if this type of an allegation is made? Does Ms. [Margot] Wallström's office get involved? What does it do? It just seems like it's something that needs to be addressed.

Spokesperson Nesirky: Any allegation in general terms, any allegation of a serious nature like that would be looked into, of course. And as you know, our peacekeeping operations have a really strict, zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse of any kind. And so any allegation that is going in that direction would need to be looked into very carefully, but I don't have anything specific on the particular allegation that you have mentioned.

Question: Okay. Do you think it is something on which there will be, one way or another, the UN will say publicly either they looked into it and it's not true or it's true?

Spokesperson: Well, I have just said that I…

Correspondent: No, you didn't.

Spokesperson: I beg your pardon? What did you just say, Matthew?

Question: I thought you said you didn't have anything, so I just wanted to know, will you eventually have something on this topic?

Spokesperson: Look, if you wish to make underhand comments while I am trying to give an answer, maybe it's better to do that outside the briefing room, and not in the briefing room on camera, okay? The point I was trying to make is that, whenever there are serious allegations made, they should be looked into. If I have any particular guidance on this particular allegation that's been made, then I would tell you, okay?

What Inner City Press was saying was that the spokesman comment two days in a row that he'll say something if he has something implies that this serious allegation could just go away, be forgotten.

In Darfur, a detailed allegation of the murder of 13 named people has yet to be confirmed or denied with a $1 billion UN peacekeeping mission there. Also from the UN's June 14 transcript:

Inner City Press: Two questions on Darfur. One is, in Nepal, 34 police officers have been ordered to answer charges of embezzling from UN peacekeeping funds for these defective vehicles that were sent to the UNAMID. What's the UN… What's DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] say about this now formalized charge in Nepal?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, we are obviously aware of that, and this is a good example of where a sovereign country, a troop-contributing country, follows through on allegations that have been made. And that's the way that it should happen: that if a credible allegation is made, that the country from where the troops come should look into it and take action if necessary. And that's what is happening in this case.

Inner City Press: And I also wanted to ask, on this issue of that in June, 1 June, the allegation that 13 Zarghawas were killed by the Sudanese Government. I understand that, I guess the answer is that UNAMID is looking into it, but given that this was 1 June…

Spokesperson: That was the answer we got, I think, yeah.

Inner City Press: Yeah, it's 1 June it's now 14. I guess, I wondered — and I'd like just… I am not going to mutter, I'll say it as clearly as I can — how can it be that a $1 billion peacekeeping mission in two weeks can't come up with some answer about a serious allegation like that?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Because they're still looking into it, I should think.

In the case of the UN peacekeepers accused of rape, they are still there. How long is acceptable for the UN to take to investigate such charges? Despite its lofty statements, what other priorities does the UN have? A major Mission to the UN has also been asked. Watch this site.