Annan admits UN DR Congo abuses

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I know the allegations about this were discussed earlier - but I cannot find the thread - if anyone can find it, maybe you might link to here?

Annan admits UN DR Congo abuses

Kofi Annan said he had received a detailed briefing
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said there is clear evidence that UN staff sexually abused refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Allegations of abuse at UN camps surfaced last year, prompting the UN's internal watchdog to launch an inquiry.

After being briefed on its progress, Mr Annan said a small number of civilian and military personnel had committed "shameful" acts of gross misconduct.

He added that those involved must be held accountable.

Two years ago, a UN investigation rejected similar allegations of sexual exploitation of refugees by UN staff in West Africa.........

Full BBC story (and good links re the Congo conflict etc) here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4027319.stm

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Horror upon horror--the lusty UN Peacekeepers frequently contract AIDS's, spread it on their assignment and then take it home.

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shame on you , UN Sad

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Well - to be fair, there were troops from many different countries in there - mebbe hard to control?

What they rescued the women from weren't all beer and skittles either: (Warning - if you choose to click onto that article and read it all, it gets pretty distressing - what I excerpted ain't the half of it...)

Congo rape victims seek solace

By Jackie Martens
BBC, Democratic Republic of Congo

Victim Vumi is now shunned by her community because of her plight

The war in Congo, estimated to have killed three million people and involving armies from seven different countries, is coming to an end.

But, as United Nations troops move into areas previously ravaged by war, the true horror of what was wrought on the population is now emerging.

It was after a torturous two-hour drive along a windy dirt road, high up in the mountains, that we found Vumiliar Lukindo - or just Vumi.

As we walked forward to meet the tiny 16-year-old, she doubled over, clutching her stomach and trying to cover her feet with the faded cloth she had wrapped around her body.

She averted her eyes. Urine covered her feet.

Healing hope

Vumi suffers from incontinence, and cannot sit down because of the pain, the result of a horrific rape incident last October.

The victims have suffered, but they want their stories told
"The attack happened at night, and we were forced to flee into the bush," she said, in a voice barely more than a whisper.

"Four men took me. They all raped me. At that time I was nine months pregnant."

"They gang-raped me and pushed sticks up my vagina - that's when my baby died - they said it was better than killing me."

The men then stole her few belongings and her community, unable to live with the smell, shunned her.

Now she hopes only to be healed.

Community rejection

In a country ravaged by war, where rape is used as a weapon and having a gun means you can act with impunity, Vumi is not alone.

We have many stories like this that make us shed our tears, I used to cry, but have now become more desensitised... this happens all over this area, sometimes to children as young as nine

Care worker Jeanne Banyere
Spending only a few hours in Kitchanga, a small, sleepy village supplemented by many refugees of this conflict, we met many other women with equally horrific stories to tell, but who wanted such stories told.

Kahindo Ndasimwa, dressed in little more than rags, told of how militia attacked her village one night two years ago, forcing her to flee into the bush.

The 40-year-old was then repeatedly raped by four men - their legacy a continual stream of urine down her legs.

Bahati Ndasimwa, a 24-year-old with a round friendly face - but eyes that told of torture - said she was raped by too many men to count.

Her community then also rejected her.

Violent rape

Furaha Mapendo was staked to the ground with her legs splayed by 10 men, who then had their way with her.

With her eyes staring fixedly at the ground, the 24-year-old told of how the men pushed sticks and various objects into her for an entire night, six years ago.

These women all suffer from vaginal fistula, a medical condition found in countries with poor health infrastructure, which is usually a result of poor childbirth care.

In this part of the world, it is caused by violent rape.

The walls between the vagina, bladder and anus are torn, resulting in severe pain and debilitating incontinence.

"We have many stories like this that make us shed our tears," said Jeanne Banyere, or Mama Jeanne to all who know this remarkable woman.

"I used to cry, but have now become more desensitised. This happens all over this area, sometimes to children as young as nine."......

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3426273.stm

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UN Congo mission website:

http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en

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Adding the website of the

UN Office of Internal Oversight Services

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dlowan wrote:

Well - to be fair, there were troops from many different countries in there - mebbe hard to control?

Stupid sentence.

There is unfortunaly no excuse for such act.

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Please do not be so rude, Thok.

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And please do not also make assumptions about what I mean.

I am NOT excusing this, thank you!

I AM pointing out that this was a situation with a large number of troops from not so very well organized armies - which are presumably more difficult to control than an army from a single country - and look what happened with a well disciplined force in Abu Ghraib.

Sheesh.

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rude are other words.

dlowan wrote:

And please do not also make assumptions about what I mean.

I don't made assumptions about what you mean.

dlowan wrote:

I am NOT excusing this, thank you!

dlowan wrote:

to be fair

But this could be mean as excuse.

dlowan wrote:

I AM pointing out that this was a situation with a large number of troops from not so very well organized armies - which are presumably more difficult to control than an army from a single country - and look what happened with a well disciplined force in Abu Ghraib.

Thanks, that was which I wanted to hear -> your explanation.

dlowan wrote:

Sheesh.

Please don't be so rude.

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I mean, your intention was very clear, dlowan.

Besides, I think, we all - especially we with others than English as first language - should think a bit, before accusing someone for writing "stupid sentences".

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

Besides, I think, we all - especially we with others than English as first language - should think a bit, before accusing someone for writing "stupid sentences".

I know what this mean and ,your are wrong, I wrote that in singular. Which means that only this sentence is meant:

dlowan wrote:

Well - to be fair, there were troops from many different countries in there - mebbe hard to control?

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Actually, I was doing something, which is commonly known as 'generalization'/'generalisation', here intensificated by using "we" and "we all"

Quote:

Main Entry: gen·er·al·iza·tion
Pronunciation: jen()rlzshn, -lz-, rapid jenr()l-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
1 : the act or action of generalizing
2 : the result of the process of generalizing : as a : a general concept, idea, or notion b : a general inference or proposition : a quantified statement
3 : the act or process whereby response is made to a stimulus similar to but not identical with a reference stimulus

source: Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (20 Nov. 2004).

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generalization,yes. But inescapable related to my post.

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dlowan--

I have always found your prose to be both cogent and colorful as one would expect for a well-read woman who makes her living explaining the nuances of interpersonal communication.

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I have often not commented on your manner, Thok, because I know that English is not your first language.

That one wasn't going by me. It was plain rude in any language.

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I have noticed that English is not Thok's first language.

I've also noticed that he tends to be much more polite to men than to women.

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I know that English is not my first language.

Actually, dlowan, you make great post indeed but in the post below that was unfortunaly at least for me far from it.

Noddy24 wrote:

I've also noticed that he tends to be much more polite to men than to women.

How dare you, you mixed me up with another.
That's a lie and absolutely not true.
_______

Actually we are far from topic here,I suppose. So if there are still some issuses. What about to use PM further?

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Noddy24 wrote:

I've also noticed that he tends to be much more polite to men than to women.

He can tell them apart?

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That's another point. It is here difficult to distinguishable this.
Even if,I don't do this.

So you probably extemporized that sentence.

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Annan admits UN DR Congo abuses

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