Don't abuse vulnerable people, please!

By Simon Mone

Trapped between two difficulties; horrible life in camps and abuse, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) find themselves with some dilemmas to jump over.

When they run away from gun wielding rebels, they hope to find safety in camps. Unfortunately, they plunge themselves in deeper trouble.

Peace keeping soldiers lie in wait to exploit their vulnerability. Right away, we pose a question: "where should IDPs run to, to find compassion?" For a long time, there have been indicators of; rape, sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls, by groups of people deployed to superintend safety and security of citizens of war-plagued countries.

In December, 2015, an independent panel released a report on abuse by peace keeping forces in CAR. Findings confirmed early warning signals. That in deed young girls interviewed, attested to being raped by individuals working as United Nation (UN) peace keeping troops.

Apart from rape, young girls were baited with candies and exploited. What baffles us is the fact that those implicated are people who wear UN barges. It drags the good name of UN in muddy soil. And also tarnishes countries that contribute peace keepers.

When civilians see UN peace keepers, they sense hopefulness after their despair. Regrettably, the supposed professionals meant to deliver them from hopelessness are not to be trusted. Their actions are coming under rigorous scrutiny.

As if conditions that helpless populations face are not bad already, their vulnerability is being compounded. And now the honoured berets that these guys wear are in disrepute. Whenever such allegations come up, usually, they must be investigated.

But such accusations return without good outcomes. So there is no possibility that prosecution will deliver justice and thus, safety and security concerns of displaced communities are left to hang. It is sad because alleged offenders often get away with it. And get sent home, without being made to account for their misdemeanours.

No punitive measure! Such wrongdoings are always swept under the carpet to avoid antagonising countries that send their service men. Therefore, it leaves victims in suspense all the time. With little or no assistance given, yet in fact, the hurting souls require psychosocial healing, counselling and medical assistance.

Thus, this deprives belief and hope for expected bright future for IDPs. But due to popular sentiments for justice, the right time to start punishing such misconducts is passing. Restrain peace keepers from committing crimes. And adopt manners that are acceptable to all. Mitigating exploitation and abuse should go beyond just joint monitoring of IDP camps and whistle blowing.

Possibly, engrave names, numbers and nationalities of all peace keeping soldiers on their outfits. With this identification, young IDPs are then sensitised to note this identification features whenever they get in contact with peace keepers. Probably before deployment, peace keepers must go through vetting processes to ascertain if their history of conduct in similar assignments is good enough. Upon deployment, local leadership should be made aware of identities of soldiers serving in their locality. Exploitation and abuse constitutes a breach of humanitarian principles.

The Humanitarian Principles of Accountability (HAP) encourages reporting of anti-humanitarian actions. So that such misdeeds are investigated and addressed to the satisfaction of vulnerable communities. And complaints effectively put to bed. Complaints re-dress must be transparent in order to leave nobody asking lingering questions. The UN has to be seen becoming more stringent in eliminating abuses.

Otherwise, proclaiming to protect vulnerable people when in fact, they exploit IDPs leaves many unanswered questions. Good solutions will allow IDPs to trust their custodians. So please, respect your calling. Protect and don't abuse IDPs.

The writer is a civil engineer