http://www.rssmicro.com/article/UN_wants_charges_against_114_Sri_Lankan_troops.i139659852.html
http://www.einnews.com/srilanka/newsfeed-sri-lanka-***-*****ca
UN wants charges against 114 Sri Lankan troops for ***ual
exploitation
of children
The UN is to charge 114 Sri Lankan soldiers who were on peace-keeping
missions with ***ual exploitation and abuse against children, the
Sunday Times re****ted this week. The UN's Office of Internal
Oversight
Services (OIOS) says it is assisting in the pending legal proceedings
initiated by the Sri Lankan Government, to ensure that all military
members found guilty, according to Sri Lankan law, 'are held
accountable for their actions.' The UN says charges should include
rape - because it involves children under 18 years of age - which
constitutes a 'war crime' in the context of military conflicts.
After an investigation into pending charges against Sri Lankan troops
in Haiti, the OIOS has concluded that "acts of ***ual exploitation
and
abuse (against children) were frequent and occurred usually at night,
and at virtually every location where the contingent personnel were
deployed," the paper said.
"In exchange for ***, the children received small amounts of money,
food, and sometimes mobile phones," says the OIOS, the UN's
investigative arm.
The charges of ***ual exploitation have been made against 114 members
of the Sri Lankan armed forces who were serving as peacekeepers in
the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
They were part of a larger 950-member Sri Lankan contingent in the
politically-troubled Caribbean nation.
Virtually all of the 114 troops were repatriated last November on
'disciplinary grounds'.
The repatriation, described as one of the biggest single withdrawals
of soldiers from a UN peacekeeping mission, was done in close
cooperation with the Sri Lankan Government.
Three officers, a Lt. Colonel and two Majors who were Company
Commanders, were withdrawn for failure to exercise command
responsibilities in accordance with military norms and standards.
Sri Lankan military Spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said "Investigations
are still going on. Our team is also looking into it. If they are
found guilty they will be punished accordingly,"
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