A UN peacekeeper was killed and four others were missing following an attack on their convoy in the southeast of Central African Republic, the UN said Tuesday. The convoy was attacked on Monday evening near Yogofongo village, more than 470 kilometres (290 miles) east of the capital Bangui, close to the border with Democratic Republic … Read more
UN peacekeepers in South Sudan say they have twice been prevented from accessing the town of Pajok, where the army is accused of killing civilians. The peacekeepers say they are concerned about reports of fighting and attacks on civilians. They are calling to be allowed to visit the area in the south of the country. … Read more
For decades, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation and abuse have operated under an umbrella of impunity. Last week, Christian Saunders, the UN director of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, told Al Jazeera’s The Stream that this was about to change. “There is no longer going to be impunity,” he said, … Read more
The United Nations Security Council has renewed the mandate of the peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but decided to cut its numbers. The 15-member council on Friday unanimously renewed the $1.2bn mission for another year amid warnings that violence was spreading across the country ahead of elections this year. The French-drafted … Read more
The UN Security Council has voted to cut the size of Monusco, its largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission, which operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under a draft plan, the total of 19,000 peacekeepers will be reduced by 3,000. The UN force is already undermanned by close to that number. The move came … Read more
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Friday to renew the mandate of the peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but cut its numbers. Members of the council paid tribute to two kidnapped UN researchers whose bodies were found this week, and voted to approve the MONUSCO mission for another year. The resolution … Read more
Ghanaian peacekeeping troops (GHANBATT) serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan are providing desperately needed medical services to the local population in Leer County in Southern Unity state. Health facilities in the region have been subject to looting during the on-going conflict. In addition, several local health partners were evacuated, leaving the county without … Read more
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday they have launched a probe into the killing of two UN researchers in an attack that has thrown the spotlight on surging violence in the troubled country. American Michael Sharp and Swedish-Chilean dual national Zaida Catalan were kidnapped in the restive region of Kasai on March … Read more
Two foreign UN experts who were kidnapped in DR Congo have been found dead, one of them decapitated, the government said Tuesday, as spiralling violence in the vast country sparked international condemnation. The bodies of the two — American Michael Sharp and Swedish national Zahida Catalan — were found as the UN Security Council prepares … Read more
Ghanaian peacekeeping troops (GHANBATT) serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan, are providing desperately needed medical services to the local population in Leer County in Southern Unity state. Health facilities in the region have been subjected to looting during the on-going conflict. In addition, several local health partners were evacuated, leaving the county without … Read more
United Nations peacekeeping missions, under threat from budget cuts if Washington’s promise to slash its UN spending goes ahead, are already costing as little as possible, a UN official said Friday. The comments come after US President Donald Trump this month proposed to cut Washington’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations — the largest share of … Read more
Prosecutors in Paris have called for the case to be dropped against French soldiers facing allegations they raped children in the Central African Republic while on a peacekeeping mission, judicial sources told AFP Tuesday. What happens next is up to investigating judges in France, but as no one has been charged a trial appears unlikely. … Read more
France’s ambassador to the United Nations warned Tuesday that drastic cuts to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo would be tantamount to “playing with fire” as the country faces election turmoil. France has circulated a draft resolution to renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission, but is facing scrutiny from … Read more
In Haiti By Force: UN Sex Abuse, Fault Lines speaks to Haitian women who say they were raped by UN peacekeepers there. Some of them were under-age at the time; some of them are now single mothers as a result; most described anonymous, violent attacks. “The United Nations Mission in Haiti – known as MINUSTAH – … Read more
With a spike in militia killings, a deepening humanitarian crisis and the army still in shambles, the Central African Republic’s bid for peace and stability remains elusive. A three-year civil war that erupted in 2013 between Muslim and Christian militias left thousands of people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, disrupting farming, transport … Read more
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday asked the Security Council to send an extra 320 UN police to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help deal with possible outbreaks of election violence. In a report obtained by AFP, Guterres said he was “deeply disturbed by the sharp increase in human rights violations” and argued that … Read more
Some Ghanaian troops on Peace Support Operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo have complained bitterly about how they are being fed. The troops who want their identities to be hidden for security reasons said the situation keeps worsening each day in the mission area which has led to them being fed as though they … Read more
These Japanese peacekeepers who arrived in November were mandated to use force Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that the Japanese government will end its participation in a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan at the end of May, Kyodo news agency reports. “As South Sudan enters a new phase of nation-building, we have judged … Read more
The United Nations on Thursday proposed a series of new steps aimed at stamping out sex abuse by peacekeepers as a report showed an increase in abuse allegations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an annual report that there had been a total of 145 cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving troops and civilians … Read more
The Mexican Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Maria De Los Angeles Arriola Aguirre, has called for a closer collaboration between Ghana and Mexico in order to foster bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries. Ms Aguirre said both countries had a lot in common and such a collaboration would enable them to share their rich … Read more