A UN peacekeeping contingent serving in the Central African Republic is suspected of sexually abusing streetchildren in Bangui, a UN spokesman said Tuesday.
It was the third case of alleged child sexual abuse involving foreign troops in that country to have surfaced in recent month, France24 reported.
The UN mission in Bangui has notified the troop-contributing country of the new allegations and has opened an investigation, said spokesperson of the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric.
“If the allegations are substantiated, this would constitute a grave violation of UN principles and of the code of conduct of peacekeepers. The member-state will be requested to take swift and appropriate punitive action.”
The country of origin was not identified, but a UN official said it was an African contingent.
A UN report by rights investigators last year detailed testimony from children in the Central African Republic who said they were sexually abused by French troops and soldiers from Chad and Equatorial Guinea.
The sexual abuse allegedly took place from December 2013 to June 2014.
