UN peacekeepers accused of sexually abusing children in disaster-hit Haiti

The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, saw peacekeepers from different countries offering "aid" to the region. However, a study conducted by the University of Birmingham revealed that the peacekeeping mission devastated the lives of many underaged girls in the country. Interviews of over 2,500 Haitians supported the claim that the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers sexually abused children who were in desperate need of food and money. In many instances, the peacekeepers fathered children with the girls.

The 2010 earthquake left Haiti crippled. The UN decided to offer aid by sending in the peacekeeping force. Men from 12 countries including Argentina, France, Canada, Chile, and Uruguay reportedly fathered children with Haitian girls during the peacekeeping mission. The children fathered by the peacekeepers are locally labelled "Petit Minustah" linking the peacekeeping mission to the children.

The team from the University of Birmingham went to Haiti in 2017 to conduct their field study. In villages close to the UN camps, the researchers interviewed more than 2,500 locals.

Most of the locals confirmed that the peacekeepers would sexually abuse children by enticing them with food and money. The peacekeepers encouraged the prostitution of children as young as 11. The starving children and sometimes their families were forced to let the children be abused by the men.

In an interview, a Cite Soleil woman told the researchers that she had witnessed 12 and 13-year-old girls being left pregnant by peacekeepers. Another woman said that the peacekeepers seemed to be friendly and helpful as they gave money to the children and families, but they would leave the girls in misery after impregnating them.

The Sun pointed out that the abuse of children by UN peacekeepers came to light after Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM) staff was accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Haiti. The organisation, which was founded in the United Kingdom, is a confederation of 19 independent charities.

OXFAM aid workers were accused of sexually abusing child prostitutes. An e-mail from a 12-year-old girl even reported that OXFAM workers raped her and her friend. Even with such evidence, no actions were taken against the organisation or the aid workers.