GENEVA - The UN rights chief Friday expressed alarm at new allegations of child abuse by foreign peacekeepers in the troubled Central African Republic, including cases involving European Union troops.
Reports of sex abuse by soldiers serving with French and UN missions in the country already surfaced last year, but the latest charges detailed in a UN statement are said to date back to 2014 but to have been discovered in the last weeks.
Of the several girls interviewed by UN officers, four "said their abusers were attached to contingents operating as part of the European Union operation," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said, adding he was "extremely alarmed at continuing allegations."
"Two of the girls interviewed said they were raped by EUFOR soldiers, and the two other girls said they were paid to have sexual relationships with other EUFOR soldiers," the statement said.
"While the nationalities of some of the soldiers remain unclear, three of the girls said they believed their abusers were members of the Georgian EUFOR contingent. The four girls were aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the alleged abuse." The alleged abuse took place at a sprawling camp for displaced people at M'Poko, near Bangui's airport.
Reacting to the allegations, EUFOR said in a statement "the EU takes these allegations very seriously". But the "responsibility for any investigation, disciplinary or criminal action remains in the hands of the contributing States," EUFOR added. Georgia pledged to examine the case.