United Nations, New York, 5 November 2009 - According to the latest information from the Department of Field Support, (DFS), from the start of January this year, troop contributing countries have reported that 33 military personnel implicated in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation during UN peacekeeping have been disciplined and punished.
The punishments included dismissal, forced retirement, withdrawal of officer's commission, various lengths of imprisonment and outright dismissal.
Last year, two military personnel received similar disciplinary action and there were fifteen such cases the year before.
Additionally, over the past three years, disciplinary action was also taken against twenty military personnel for cases involving other forms of misconduct, such negligent loss of firearms, traffic-related violations and fraud or theft.
Some of the cases involved peacekeepers who served in the DR Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Cote dIvoire, Liberia and Sudan.
When allegations of misconduct are substantiated against any military or police serving in UN peacekeeping, the UN repatriates the individuals concerned and then bans them from participating in future peacekeeping operations.
