UN Offers DNA Tests To Address Sexual Abuse Claims

To look into allegations of sexual misconduct by global UN keepers, some DNA tests to identify paternity claims by those who are bringing up 'UN babies,' is being performed, according to rt.

Members of the UN's 125,000 peacekeeping force over 16 spots across the world engaged in sex with local populations, or committed sexual crimes.This led to children from the UN force members, including non-military staff.

It's a "delicate step," with countries contributing UN troops not wanting a process that proves not only fatherhood but wrongdoing, according to yahoo.

There were about a dozen paternity claims that had been sent to the UN last year, four of which were about alleged sexual abuse of a minor, the Associated Press reports.

In 2005, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, who is today the UN's human rights chief, urged the UN to conduct DNA tests in case of any charges. "Assembly should authorize the Secretary-General to require DNA and other tests to establish paternity in appropriate cases, so as to ensure that peacekeeping personnel can be obligated to provide child support to so-called peacekeeper babies that they father and abandon," the report stated.

A decade later, the UN last year began to offer a DNA collection protocol and testing kits. A UN cable this month by AP showed that in January 2014, the peacekeeping force offered its missions "guidance on assistance in instances of paternity claims involving current or former members of peacekeeping missions in terms of DNA testing."

A member state with a peacekeeping UN force is asked to conduct the test, or the UN does it. It cannot force the country to do it. If the paternity test turns out to be positive, it could lead to possible criminal proceedings. "Almost half" of the 29 paternity claims since January 2010 were made by minors.

 "If paternity were established, the United Nations could, with a small change in its rules, deduct from the salary of that staff member, or from his final emoluments... the equivalent of one year's salary of a local employee in the mission area," Zeid proposed in the report.

According to Ban Ki-moon's annual report, new charges of sexual exploitation totaled 79 in 2014, over 96 in 2013.

In 2014, 38 charges were made in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Haiti, the remaining 13 allegations were received from Liberia, Mali, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Lebanon and the Ivory Coast. About 25 percent of the cases were related to minors. There were 12 paternity claims in total.

The annual report says the UN is addressing the paternity tests issue by "systematically sharing a DNA collection protocol with concerned member States" and offering to assist gathering DNA samples from mothers and children, to compare them against DNA samples from their alleged fathers.