An alarming number of young girls have been sexually exploited by humanitarians in Liberian refugee camps by UN forces. Sahar El-Bahr reports Save the Children, a UK-based international aid charitable organisation, has published a 20-page report in which it revealed that aid workers, UN peacekeepers and teachers -- supposedly tasked with protecting the vulnerable members of the Liberian population -- are exchanging food, money, other goods, favors, sometimes as little as a bottle of beer, a ride in an aid vehicle or watching a film, for sex with Liberian girls as young as eight. The abuse took place in camps housing Liberian refugees uprooted due to fighting during the West African nation's 14-year war. The UN force in Liberia has admitted cases of sexual exploitation. Eight cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving UN personnel have been reported since the start of 2006; one of these cases has been substantiated and the member of staff suspended. "We are appalled with any activity of this nature -- the sexual exploitation or abuse -- by aid workers, be they international or Liberian. It's unacceptable behaviour," declared out Jordan Ryan, UN humanitarian coordinator in Liberia. Ryan added that the Save the Children report -- which was conducted six months ago -- is outdated, and that much has improved since. "The camps that the report deals with are now closed; so there are good things that are now happening in Liberia. UN staff who engage in such 'unacceptable behaviors' are fired," Ryan explained. Commenting on the same shameful incidents, World Food Programme (WFP) Spokeswoman Caroline Harford said that: "The WFP, together with the other UN agencies, will definitely be looking into these allegations very seriously because obviously we have zero tolerance for any sexual exploitation." The Save the Children report was based on testimonies from 315 people, more or less evenly split between men and women, boys and girls. Half of those questioned remain in refugee camps. "The girls reportedly ranged in age from eight to 18 years, with girls of 12 years and upwards identified as being regularly involved in 'selling sex'," it stated. According to the report, all of the respondents clearly stated that they felt that the scale of the problem affected over half of the girls in their locations, adding that aid workers, teachers, camp and government employees, policemen, UN peacekeepers, influential men in society, businessmen and soldiers were involved. Aid groups generally employ both international and local staff -- though the report did not give the nationality of the aid workers or peacekeepers in question. The report stressed the relationship between food aid, poverty and sex, as evidenced by particular accusations which claimed that some men involved in distributing food rations demanded sex in return. Save the Children said it learned of transactional sex involving peacekeepers in every camp and community it visited where the UN troops are stationed. "This cannot continue," Save the Children UK Chief Executive Jasmine Whitbread said. 'Men who use positions of power to take advantage of vulnerable children must be reported and fired. More must be done to support children and their families so that they can make a living without turning to this kind of desperation." Notably, Liberia was once one of Africa's most prosperous nations with abundant resources; however, it has been wrecked by a 1989-2003 civil war which has resulted in an estimated 250,000 deaths in a country of almost three million people. Around 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes and take refuge in camps around the capital Monrovia or abroad. About 17,000 UN peacekeepers are in Liberia to provide security in the aftermath of war. "With the coming in of a new government, mechanisms are being put in place to limit these kinds of things," indicated Mohamed Sheriff, Liberia's deputy health minister. However, Sheriff stated that preventing the sex transactions is a difficult task for a poor country still recovering from years of violence. "We have parents that have so many children -- eight to 10 -- that are not able to cope with the meager amount of money they have. People live on less than 25 cents (a day); so you can see why these things may happen." Save the Children urged Liberia's new government, UN agencies and donors to set up a government-led ombudsman office to ensure sex abuse allegations are investigated. The report also suggested that countries which contribute troops to the UN force should also ensure soldiers who sexually exploited children are charged and those found guilty should be removed from the force. Unfortunately, what happens in Liberia also takes place in other countries: in Congo, a UN study found that peacekeepers had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money. Cases of sexual abuse have also been reported in other peacekeeping missions from Bosnia and Kosovo, Ivory Coast, Haiti to Cambodia and East Timor where the UN has accused members of its biggest peacekeeping force of rape, pedophilia and giving children food or money in return for sex.
