Acting chief public information officer Matthew Elavanalthoduka said the mission has taken steps to minimize any possible misconduct by UN peacekeepers in Liberia.
The OIOS report, to be published this coming Monday, said a survey of women between the ages 18 and 30 in the Liberian capital, Monrovia found that a quarter of them said they had sex with UN peacekeepers, usually for money. Acting chief public information officer Elavanalthoduka said the mission has put in place an extensive awareness program for its peacekeepers to minimize such misconduct.
Elavanalthoduka said UNMIL has observed that sexual misconduct allegations against peacekeepers have decreased over the years because of the measures the mission has put in place.
So yes, there could be the possibility of such misconduct around the peacekeepers. We are investigating that; we are in touch with the OIOS office to have further information so that we can take our investigation further and take appropriate action. Elavanalthoduka said UNMIL is not disputing the fact that there could have been some incidence of misconduct by peacekeepers, and it is in touch with the OIOS for further information.
These children were left behind in poverty and eventually became a liability to not just the mothers, but to society as whole. Tiawon Gongloe, formerly Liberian solicitor general and now a practicing human rights lawyer, said a UNMIL peacekeeper or any UN expatriate employee who fathers a child by a Liberian woman has a legal obligation to support that child.
