“When ma asked me to go to the stream to wash plates, a peacekeeper asked me to take my clothes off so that he can take a picture. When I asked him to give me money he told me, no money for children, only biscuit.”
(cited in UNHCR & STC 2002)
As part of its commitment to maintaining international peace, the United Nations has tasked thousands of peacekeepers with protecting vulnerable populations affected by conflict. While the UN’s ‘Blue Helmets’ are often welcomed with relief and hope, they have also inflicted even greater harm, sexually exploiting and abusing those they were sent to protect.
