UN report on stopping peacekeeper sex crimes fails, say critics
On March 11, the United Nations adopted a resolution to tackle the issue of sexual assault committed by its peacekeepers. However, some are already questioning just how effective the new measures proposed by the Secretary General will be in ending the abuse.
Emma Phillips is the counsel for the Independent Panel on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by International Peacekeeping Forces in the Central African Republic and a partner at the Toronto law firm Goldblatt Partners — she believes what's lacking in the report is confrontation of the culture within the UN that allowed the assaults to occur.
While the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, says the sexual assaults are a human rights issue, Phillips says they are not behaving in a manner that is in line with a human rights violation.
"There's a real disjunction between the rhetoric that's used publicly ... and the actions of staff on the ground," Phillips says.
This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.