Lawmakers on Wednesday used a rare hearing in the United States Senate to excoriate the United Nations secretary general for what they called his failure to stanch sexual abuse
by his agency’s peacekeepers and threatened to withhold crucial funding
not only for the United Nations, but also bilateral aid for countries
that fail to hold their soldiers accountable.
The
United States is the largest single donor to peacekeeping operations,
though not many of its soldiers and police serve under United Nations
command. The congressional scrutiny came as the United Nations has been
roiled by allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by its
blue-helmeted troops, particularly in the Central African Republic.