24337: (news) Chamberlain: UN peacekeepers accused of rape in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations is
investigating allegations that three Pakistani soldiers raped a woman in
Haiti while deployed on a U.N. stabilization mission, a spokesman said on
Wednesday.
     The probe comes shortly after the United Nations reported widespread
abuse of women by U.N. peacekeeping soldiers in Congo, which led the
international body this month to ban its peacekeepers from having sex with
Congolese.
     The U.N. mission in Haiti, known as MINUSTAH, began "a very urgent
inquiry" last week, spokesman Damian Onzes-Cardona said.
     A preliminary investigation indicated the incident involved consensual
sex for pay, the mission said in a statement.
     "The young lady acknowledged her consent and negotiated through a
third person about the sum to pay in exchange," the statement said.
     The 23-year-old woman, who lives near the northern city of Gonaives,
told local radio journalists the soldiers used another woman to lure her to
a banana plantation with a promise of new clothing, and took turns raping
her there on Friday.
     "The foreigners grabbed and pulled my pants, had me lie on the ground
and then raped me," she told the radio stations.
     Two of the accused soldiers were removed from their posts and could
face legal and disciplinary measures if the rape allegations are confirmed
during the investigation, which continues, the U.N. mission said. The third
soldier was present but did not participate, Onzes-Cardona said.
     "What I can say is that there will be zero tolerance against those at
fault," he said. "The MINUSTAH and the United Nations take this case very
seriously."
     U.N. regulations for soldiers usually forbid sex with anyone under 18
years of age and forbid forced prostitution.
     The United Nations sent peacekeepers to Haiti to help stabilize the
nation after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted during a bloody
rebellion a year ago. The Brazilian-led force is currently comprised of
6,000 troops from 20 nations and 1,400 civilian police from 34 nations.