An independent panel has concluded in a scathing report issued Thursday that United Nations officials passed allegations of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers
“from desk to desk, inbox to inbox” and failed to meet the
organization’s core mission to protect the rights of the most vulnerable
civilians.
The report grew out of allegations that French soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic had offered food to children as young as 9 in exchange for sex. In one of the most damning indictments of the United Nations
system, the report found that its officials had “turned a blind eye to
the criminal actions of individual troops,” and failed to protect or aid
the child victims.