Unicef ​​has become the third major UN agency to try to shed light on the role of its staff by launching, Wednesday, September 30, an investigation into accusations of sexual assault against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The United Nations Children's Fund said it was "shocked that people who present themselves as Unicef ​​employees have abused vulnerable women in the Democratic Republic of Congo", according to a statement.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) had done the same earlier in the day, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) which had announced the day before an investigation at the express request of its Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

These are employees of three of the most important UN agencies who find themselves implicated.

The announcements come shortly after the publication on Tuesday of an investigation by the humanitarian news agency The New Humanitarian (TNH) and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A very widespread practice

This investigation, carried out over many months, found more than 50 women accusing staff of the WHO and NGOs involved in the fight against Ebola of sexual exploitation - in particular, they were offered sex in exchange for the promise of sexual exploitation. 'a job or by terminating their contract when they refused to comply.

These facts would have occurred between 2018 and 2020.

According to the survey, the similarities in the accounts given by several women suggest that the practice was widespread.

Unicef ​​said it had dispatched additional staff to help with the investigation on the ground and promised to work in concert with other UN agencies involved as well as NGOs on the ground.

"We have zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse and we take all accusations very seriously and there will be serious consequences for any staff member who has sexually abused people," the organization promises.

Unicef ​​calls on victims to make themselves known and claims to have put in place for two years a safe system so that women and children can denounce these acts in complete safety, but also compulsory training to raise awareness on this subject.

"An unbearable attack on confidence in those whose mandate is to bring comfort"

"It is clear that this is not enough and we must do more, especially at the community level", recognizes the organization, which does not give details on the number of employees accused of having perpetrated these abuses.

The IOM had indicated that it would immediately investigate one of its employees against whom "serious charges" were brought.

"These abuses by UN employees and other humanitarian workers are an unbearable attack on confidence in those who have a mandate to bring comfort, often in very difficult humanitarian conditions," IOM stressed. who also promised to improve the way victims can report these abuses, acknowledging that they have sometimes "hesitated to open up" for fear of exposing themselves to reprisals.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is fighting a new Ebola epidemic, the eleventh to affect the country, which has caused 50 deaths since June.

The previous one had caused 2,287 deaths for 3,470 cases between August 2018 and June 2020. A billion dollars have been invested to fight against this epidemic.

Only the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, in 2013-2016, had more victims (more than 11,000 for some 29,000 confirmed cases).

With AFP

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