UN grilled over botched CAR abuse report

An internal UN draft report obtained by The New Humanitarian (TNH) reveals a litany of mistakes made by UN investigators who were probing allegations of rape in the CAR in 2016. The Geneva-based organisation notes that more than 100 females had accused Burundian and Gabonese peacekeepers of rape and sexual abuse. A 50-page internal UN report, obtained by TNH from a former UN staffer concerned over the review’s findings, details blunders in the investigations and lays out the victims were let down. It said Unicef failed to take accurate testimonies and waited weeks before informing the UN’s investigatory and oversight body of the allegations. The draft report was based on responses from 23 UN staff, three former workers, and other respondents involved in the investigation and operation in Dekoa, a remote town north of the capital, Bangui.