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April 12, 2005
UN Abuse in Sierra Leone
Peter Dennis, who was an aide worker in Sierra Leone in 2003, writes about a lack of accountability in the UN. When there is that much power and that much money combined in one institution along with almost no chance of being fired or arrested for gross or illegal misconduct, then it is almost guaranteed that you are going to get massive corruption and wrongdoing like what is going on in the UN. Dennis writes in today's Washington Post about how he witnessed UN peacekeepers abusing innocent Sierra Leone refugees,
Anyone who was shocked by the most recent revelations of sexual misconduct by United Nations staff has never set foot in a U.N.-sponsored refugee camp. Sex crimes are only one especially disturbing symptom of a culture of abuse that exists in the United Nations precisely because the United Nations and its staff lack accountability.This lack of accountability is the central blemish on today's United Nations, and it lies behind most of the recent headlines. Whether taking advantage of a malnourished refugee or of a lucrative oil-for-food contract, the temptation is there, the act is easy and the risk of punishment is nil.
Some of the abuse witnessed by Dennis includes,
Injustices of one sort or another were perpetrated by U.N. missions or their affiliated nongovernmental organizations every day in the camps I visited. Corruption was the norm, in particular the embezzlement of food and funds by NGO officials, which often left camp resources dangerously inadequate. Utterly arbitrary judicial systems in the camps subjected refugees to violent physical punishment or months in prison for trivial offenses -- all at the whim of officials and in the absence of any sort of hearing.
Posted by Pete at April 12, 2005 04:49 PM
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