“He gave me money, food… In exchange for sexual favors. I got pregnant and a few months later, he left, leaving me with the child.”
UN personnel are strictly prohibited from exchanging money, food or other favors for sex. UN peace operations do everything possible to prevent this type of misconduct, but unforgivable cases continue to occur. In some cases, children are conceived and abandoned in conflict environments where their fathers were serving, such as in the story above of a mother in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since 2006, the UN has received more than 700 paternity and alimony complaints involving peace operations personnel. 95% of these involve military or police personnel provided by UN Member States to serve under the UN banner.
Member States have a responsibility to respond to these demands, but more than 70% of them remain unresolved, leaving 500 children without legal recognition or financial support.
“Children born this way too often face poverty, stigma and insecurity,” said Secretary-General António Guterres. “They deserve to be recognized, supported and treated with dignity. The United Nations is determined to make this goal a reality. But we cannot do it alone. »
Some Member States are working to resolve complaints despite the challenges of navigating multiple legal systems and socio-economic contexts. Some locate fathers and guide mothers on how to file a complaint in their country. Some have established national paternity focal points to facilitate DNA testing and help mothers access pro bono representation and assistance with legal costs.
However, these Member States remain in the minority. In most cases, responses from Member States to requests are slow. Sometimes they don’t respond at all.
“Some of these requests have been pending for more than a decade and a number of children fathered by uniformed personnel have reached adulthood,” explains Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategies and Policies and compliance, the department that receives and processes requests.
The UN works to help victims of sexual misconduct obtain justice and hold perpetrators accountable. We facilitate contact with the authorities of the country where they wish to file their complaint and can help them pay legal costs. When the father is a UN civilian official, the UN enforces court decisions and deducts salaries to ensure that the perpetrators fulfill their parental obligations.
Additionally, the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse has supported mothers to engage in income-generating activities and pay for school fees and uniforms for their children. children.
The UN is also taking steps to help Member States process cases more quickly, for example by facilitating DNA collection and cross-border child support payments.
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