Kobojunkie:

How old are you? For pete's sake how frelling old are you to even utter the words you do on this issue? Who raised you?

Old enough to know that you are trying to demonize the men for doing what soldiers do when they are far from home. Have relationships with the local women!

When has that been a sin? You say a soldier who is fighting in another country cannot have relations with a woman who wants to keep him company?

Rubbish!

EzeUche:

Old enough to know that you are trying to demonize the men for doing what soldiers do when they are far from home. Have relationships with the local women!

When has that been a sin? You say a soldier who is fighting in another country cannot have relations with a woman who wants to keep him company?

Rubbish!

You really need your head checked and I hope it is not too late to have those mistakes corrected. I hope you are still under the care of your parents cause it seems all too apparent there is still a lot to be done to prepare you for adulthood. But then again, we have way too many grownup children out there who cannot reason right to save their own lives.

To the brave soldiers: GO TO LIBERIA AND MULTIPLY. . .  

[b][size=18pt]Nigeria women despoiled by police and army
[/size][/b]afrol News, 28 November - "Disturbing trends of despoil and sexual violence against women and girls at the hands of police and security forces" have been revealed in Nigeria. Some security forces act as if they were entitled to despoil local women, and they are sure never to face justice.

"There were three men. I have pain even today… they used my daughter too. She is 12 years old… They also despoiled my sister. Another man despoiled a woman who was 4 months pregnant and she lost the child…they were military men. Everyone in the village saw them, they didn't hide, they didn't care. I didn't tell the police because I fear them."

This is one of the testimonies presented at a press conference in Lagos, Nigeria, today by the human rights group Amnesty International. The testimony is part of a report on sexual abuse of women by Nigerian security forces, which according to Amnesty could almost be termed systematic.

despoil by police and security forces is endemic in Nigeria as is the abject failure of the Nigerian authorities to bring perpetrators to justice, the human rights group said at the press conference. They called on Nigeria's federal and State authorities to urgently overhaul the legal and social systems that tolerate widespread despoil and sexual violence against women and girls across the country.

Amnesty launched the report "Nigeria: despoil - the silent weapon", which draws upon the testimony of survivors and "identifies disturbing trends of despoil and sexual violence against women and girls at the hands of police and security forces." The report argues that these acts are compounded and encouraged by failures at every level of the judicial system and persist because of consistent failure by the state to tackle the abuse of women and girls by the police and security forces.

Whether abused by police, security forces or in their homes and community, the report outlines the enormous difficulties faced by women and girls who are despoiled or sexually abused in Nigeria.

"The harsh reality is that if you are a woman or a girl in Nigeria who has suffered the terrible experience of being despoiled, your suffering is likely to be met with intimidation by the police, indifference from the state and the knowledge that the perpetrator is unlikely to ever face justice," said Kolawole Olaniyan of Amnesty.

At the press conference, there was further presented evidence of the use of despoil and sexual slavery by the Nigerian security forces "to intimidate communities in the Niger Delta." The oil-rich but impoverished Delta has fallen into violence as local rebels fight for a greater part of oil revenues to be channelled to the region.

The group further outlined how despoil is used by the police as a means of torture to extract confessions from suspects in custody and how women and girls rarely seek prosecution for fear of intimidation by the police and rejection by their families and community. When they do, widespread failures throughout the judicial system result in only an estimated 10 percent of cases ever being successfully prosecuted.

The report outlines serious obstacles to the reporting and prosecution of despoil in Nigeria, including inadequate training of police that results in the humiliation and intimidation of the victims and police investigations hampered by corruption and incompetence. On the legislative level, differences between federal, state, Shari'a and customary law lead to uneven standards of justice and arbitrary decisions concerning the seriousness of the crime.

"Our report depicts the near total failure of the Nigerian state to protect women and girls from these terrible crimes. The Nigerian government has taken no meaningful action to translate its international legal obligations towards woman and girls into national law, policy and practice. It is now time that the state and federal authorities meet those obligations and offer real security and justice to women and girls in Nigeria," Ms Olaniyan said.


----------------------------


If this can happen in NIgeria. . . . . .

That is nothing new. They did that to Igbo women in Biafra! 

Every Igbo man was told stories of how some of kin were r-aped by Hausa soldiers or even taken up to the north never to be heard from again.

EzeUche:



That is nothing new. They did that to Igbo women in Biafra!

Gosh!! SOme people are just too braindead to function normally at any level!

EzeUche:



That is nothing new. They did that to Igbo women in Biafra! 

Every Igbo man was told stories of how some of kin were r-aped by Hausa soldiers or even taken up to the north never to be heard from again.

So it makes it okay to ra-pe women in Liberia? Civilians they were sworn to protect?

You disappoint me, mehn.

Ileke-IdI:

So it makes it okay to ra-pe women in Liberia? Civilians they were sworn to protect?

You disappoint me, mehn.

Like I said before. . .

Where in this article did it say that the women were R-APED?

It is a simple question. If the soldiers did indeed R-APE these women, then I retract my previous statement. But you cannot make an accusation without facts.

What I am more worried about is that these soldiers brought back HIV with them. This is truly upsetting fact of this case.

Exposing thousands of Nigerian women to this dreaded virus!

EzeUche:

Like I said before. . .

Where in this article did it say that the women were R-APED?

It is a simple question. If the soldiers did indeed R-APE these women, then I retract my previous statement. But you cannot make an accusation without facts.

The article only addressed the issue of Nigerian men whoring around in Liberia and forsaking their responsibility.

Like we've been telling you, women find it hard to report rape. Especially when they have their PROTECTOR doing the harm.

Ileke-IdI:

The article only addressed the issue of Nigerian men whoring around in Liberia and forsaking their responsibility.

Like we've been telling you, women find it hard to report despoil. Especially when they have their PROTECTOR doing the harm.

Are you not speculating?

The article did not even mention r-ape.

These numbers were probably exaggerated as well.

And from previous reports of the Nigerian soldiers in Liberia, the Liberian people were thankful for them and even watchdog groups said that acted very professional. Until another story says otherwise, I will give these soldiers the benefit of the doubt.

SMH @ the way you addressed ra-pe issues tho.

Ileke-IdI:

SMH @ the way you addressed ra-pe issues tho.

I did not even mention r-ape. You all did.

I never did mention it. Simply speculated that the women could have been their girlfriends or even ashawo who sold themselves to make money.

You all speculated that they could have been r-aped which is possible. But in a rush to judgement, you women condemned the soldiers for having relations with the local women when it may not have been r-ape.

Once again, God bless you KoboJ

EzeUche:

I did not even mention r-ape. You all did.

I never did mention it. Simply speculated that the women could have been their girlfriends or even ashawo who sold themselves to make money.

You all speculated that they could have been r-aped which is possible. But in a rush to judgement, you women condemned the soldiers for having relations with the local women when it may not have been r-ape.

Yours was also a speculation. Where in the article did it mention a relationship between the female civilians and Nigerian soldiers?

You're praising them base on your assumption.

EzeUche:

To the brave soldiers: GO TO LIBERIA AND MULTIPLY. . .  

UN envoy hails Nigeria's peacekeeping efforts in Liberia

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Liberia Ellen Loj on Sunday commended Nigeria for its immense contribution to peacekeeping efforts in Liberia, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Monday.

Loj, who is also the Head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL),disclosed this while decorating 120 officers of the Nigerian Police Unit (NPU) with UN Peacekeeping Medals for their meritorious service in the Liberian central city of Gbarnga.

She also commended Nigeria's peacekeepers for being well-equipped in providing creative and home-grown expert solutions to complex global challenges.

The UN envoy said Nigeria had stood head above shoulders in promoting peace, security and conflict resolution in Africa and in the global arena.

"Nigerian peacekeepers come to peacekeeping operations with knowledge, skills and experience, laced with insights and depth that are as rich and diverse as their country," she said.

"Since 1960, Nigerian peacekeepers have participated in about 20 peacekeeping missions, ranking her fourth among the 130 UN troop and police-contributing countries," she added.

According to Loj, Nigeria has a heavy and important footprint in the Liberian peace process, adding that Nigerian police officers have worked tirelessly in various capacities to bring law and order to Liberia.

"You have carried out many complex tasks, including anti-crime patrols, cordon and search, stop and search, rescue operations, crowd control, riot dispersal operations and escort duties," she said.

"Through your many accomplishments, you have made the UN proud," Loj added.

Singling out the contribution of the 18 female officers in the 120-strong Nigerian police contingent, she commended them for their tenacity, selflessness, hard work and resilience.

The UN envoy stressed the need for the development of the Liberia National Police, which she said, was essential for sustainable peace in Liberia.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6738003.html



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, there is two sides to every story.

Nigerian peacekeepers roll into Monrovia

By DECLAN WALSH in Monrovia

Nigerian peacekeepers rolled in battle-scarred Monrovia to a roaring reception from ecstatic Liberians today, raising hopes that the city's suffocating siege is finally over.

Hundreds of thousands thronged roads and streets as grinning Nigerians soldiers flashed v-signs from an armoured convoy that trundled down the bullet-pocked streets.

The convoy passed by the Congress building where legislators quietly accepted President Charles Taylor's formal resignation letter in which he blamed an "international conspiracy" for his downfall.

Mr Taylor promised in a television interview to hand power to Vice President Moses Blah next Monday. His economics minister, speaking in London, said he might leave the country "sooner than expected".

On the streets joyous Liberians flung themselves before Nigerian armoured personnel carriers; other reached out to brush the boots of soldiers who blew them kisses.

"It's beautiful, it's beautiful," said Nigerian Lt-Colonel Amos Nudamajo.

Some 3,250 West African troops with the rescue mission, known as Ecomil, are expected to arrive by month's end.


"We are tired of dying. We want peace in our country," said student Danish Gbawoquiya, who held an upside down sign that read "Ecomil we love you."

The deployment has halted a relentless, two-month rebel offensive that cornered Mr Taylor in Monrovia, his last redoubt, but also killed over 1,000 civilians and sparked a massive humanitarian crisis. Exorbitant fuel and food prices have suffocated the oceanside city, clean water is rare and disease epidemics threaten.

The city centre, largely deserted for over two weeks as shells rained down and bullets whizzed through the streets, slowly resuscitated back to life yesterday.

Some residents returned home from refugee camps, a handful of shuttered shops opened their doors. But with the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebels still controlling the port, the city remained famished.

"There are no more rockets, now we feel safer. But we are still hungry," said corner shopkeeper Goffa Manewal, returning to his ransacked business.

The rebels have promised to allow aid through the port but so far none has arrived.

Just over 40 of Liberia's 90 representatives and senators turned up for the session in the deserted Congress building to rubber-stamp Mr Taylor's resignation letter. In a letter read to the legislators Mr Taylor blamed an "international conspiracy", including UN arms sanctions, for having forced him from office.

"They have prevented me from carrying out my constitutional responsibility of defending the country and providing essential social services to the people," he wrote.

"Therefore I, as the president of this noble republic can not preside over the suffering and humiliation of the Liberian people."

Like many public buildings, looters had filleted Congress. Offices along deserted corridors were stripped clean, carpets ripped up and electrical cabling hung from the broken ceiling. Even Taylor's own supporters said he had to go.

"It is in the interest of saving the lives of the Liberian people," said Rep. Ben Patten, who fled his home to escape the rebel advance.

Of the 10 legislators in his Monserrado County base, five had fled to the US or Ghana, Rep Patten addded. "Those of us who did not have the money for the plane are still around," he admitted.

After weeks of uncertainty, Mr Taylor's resignation seems almost certain. His chosen successor, Mr Blah, is a friend from his days of guerrilla training in Libya in the mid 1980s. The burning question now is whether he will flee into exile on Monday, as the LURD rebels are demanding. As ever, doubts hung over the wily president's intentions. Mr Taylor is struggling against a war crimes indictment brought against him by the Special Court in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

A Boeing 707 plane carrying a container full of weapons landed at Monrovia airport on Wednesday night, sources said. The delivery sparked a confrontation between Nigerian troops and waiting government soldiers, which ended with the laden plane taking off again.

The office of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, which has offered Mr Taylor asylum, said his office was "finalising arrangements" for his departure.

Meanwhile about 2,300 US soldiers remain stationed at American warships anchored about 100 miles off the Liberian coast. A seven-strong team of marines is in Monrovia to liaise with the African mission but President George Bush has yet to decide whether to deploy his troops for onshore peacekeeping.

Mr Bush has set Taylor's departure and an effective ceasefire as pre-conditions for American engagement.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/liberia/news/article.cfm?l_id=460&objectid=3517087

Does this seem like the Liberians were upset with the Nigerians? All I see is cheering crowds.

[size=13pt]Dark side of peacekeeping[/size]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/dark-side-of-peacekeeping-586303.html


It was late at night when the woman farmer came out of her house in the village of Joru in Sierra Leone to go to the lavatory. She saw a large white truck that had stopped about 50 metres from her home. It was an unusual sight, so she hid and watched what was going on. Inside were two white men and a black woman, who was yelling: "Leave me alone."


It was late at night when the woman farmer came out of her house in the village of Joru in Sierra Leone to go to the lavatory. She saw a large white truck that had stopped about 50 metres from her home. It was an unusual sight, so she hid and watched what was going on. Inside were two white men and a black woman, who was yelling: "Leave me alone."

"The door was open and one of them was on top of her," recalled the farmer, "K", who is in her fifties. "The lady was really struggling. I saw that one was holding her down while the other was raping her. I was able to see because the men had opened the door to the car and the light had come on."

The two men then moved the truck further down the road and stayed about 30 minutes to rape her again. "I saw both of them have their turn on her. After they had finished, I saw one of them drag her out of the cabin and put her in the back of the big truck." They then drove off.

There is nothing surprising about rape in Sierra Leone. During the brutal civil war, which was formally declared over in January last year, it was as common as the notorious mutilations. What made this crime stand out, however, was that the alleged perpetrators were peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (Unamsil), which has been in the country since October 1999. With more than 16,000 troops, it is the largest peacekeeping operation in the world. "We're all a bit frightened of those Unamsil people now," said K. "We tell our girls never to get in a truck with them or the same thing might happen to them."

In Liberia, fighting between rebels closing in on the capital, Monrovia, and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor has thrown the country into chaos. As calls are made for UN peacekeepers to be sent to there, it is disturbing to learn that K's tale - told in the Human Rights Watch report, "We'll Kill You If You Cry" - is far from unique. The report also describes how a 12-year-old girl was raped in March 2001 by a Guinean peacekeeper manning a checkpoint after she asked him to help her get a ride to Freetown, the Sierra Leone capital. A soldier was charged and taken to court the same day. However, the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) dropped the case and the soldier was sent back to Guinea.


A month before, a Nigerian peacekeeper reportedly raped a 16-year-old girl in Freetown. Unamsil said the Nigerian contingent and Unamsil's Civilian Police Section had investigated and the girl had dropped the charge. In June last year, a 14-year-old boy was allegedly raped by a Bangladeshi peacekeeper near the Jui transit camp outside Freetown. He reported the assault to the SLP and a medical examination confirmed that penetration had taken place. The Unamsil Provost Marshall took over the case, but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to link the crime with the alleged perpetrator. An order of repatriation was, however, issued.


"What is particularly shocking and appalling is that those people who ought to be there protecting the local population have actually become perpetrators," said Steve Crawshaw, the London director of Human Rights Watch. "It's also very disappointing that there seems to be a deep reluctance to investigate and prosecute these very serious crimes. To turn away from a problem like that is a terrible dereliction of duty."

There are now 13 UN peacekeeping operations around the world, served by about 39,600 military personnel and civilian police. In 1993, the UN General Assembly approved a Code of Conduct in operation for all UN peacekeeping missions. Rule four states that they should "not indulge in immoral acts of sexual, physical or psychological abuse or exploitation of the local population or United Nations staff, especially women and children". Yet a report released at the end of last year by the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and Save the Children UK on sexual exploitation of refugee children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone listed many allegations against peacekeepers from nine countries. The report claimed that children as young as five were asked to pose naked by UN peacekeepers in exchange for biscuits, cake powder and other food.


An investigation into the report by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services found that, of 12 cases it examined fully, none could be substantiated. The team identified and investigated another 43 cases of possible sexual exploitation. Ten were substantiated. One involved a peacekeeper (the one accused of the rape of the 14-year-old boy), who was immediately repatriated.

Brendan Paddy, spokesman for the Save the Children Fund, thinks the UN has got it wrong. "The report's conclusions cannot be invalidated by an investigation of a small number of complaints against individuals which prove to be unsubstantiatable. There is a very serious problem with sexual exploitation of particularly young teenage girls, in this case in vulnerable communities, by a range of people in positions of power."

Nowhere is the problem uglier - or more embarrassing to the UN - than in Bosnia. The sex-slave industry scarcely existed here until the mid-Nineties. But when Bosnia, Croatia and Yugoslavia signed the Dayton accord in 1995 to end the civil war, a team of 50,000 predominantly male peacekeepers arrived. It was made up of about 36,000 military S-For troops, more than 2,000 UN International Police Task Force (IPTF) officers (whose job was to monitor, train and advise the local police), and many staff from other UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Hundreds of brothels appeared, many staffed by girls and women from neighbouring countries who had been kidnapped or lured by promises of respectable employment and sold into sexual slavery.  
. . . .

UN peacekeepers remain under the exclusive criminal jurisdiction of their own national authorities and therefore have immunity from local prosecution. If the UN Board of Inquiry finds reasonable grounds for a charge of serious misconduct, it recommends that the peacekeeper is repatriated for subsequent disciplinary action in his or her own country.

Madeleine Rees says that only 24 IPTF officers have been repatriated to their countries for misconduct. "No peacekeeper has been prosecuted," she says. "It's outrageous that they can act with impunity. The UN has no authority to punish offenders; all it can do is try to ensure that the Code of Conduct is enforced, and that means repatriating when they offend. Proper investigations should be held and a file prepared so the accused can contest the allegations, and if it is shown that there is a prima facie case it should go back to the peacekeeper's country for further investigation and a trial, or some form of disciplinary proceeding should take place. The other option would be for the member state to waive the immunity and do it there." Peacekeepers commit such crimes, she says, "because they can get away with it".

In January, the IPTF was replaced by a 500-strong European Police Mission, with 119 IPTF officers transferring to the new unit. "They have a very strong code of conduct and a very strong mandate to combat trafficking. I would hope that they will now assist in dealing with the problem," Rees says.

Since the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo came into operation in 1999, 10 UN police officers have been involved in disciplinary offences in connection with prostitutes. Three have been repatriated for direct offences, and the others were either reprimanded or repatriated. There are currently about 4,500 UN police officers stationed in the region as well as 27,000 K-For military personnel from 38 nations. Prostitution has been a major criminal activity involving the trafficking of women and girls, though it has declined in the past two or three years.

Kristine Brubacher set up the UN's Trafficking and Prostitution Unit in 2000. She has now left the post, but she said at the time: "The internationals have created and contributed to the problem because they bring in so much money to what was previously a very poor region. Because of the money, thousands of girls are now forced to work in prostitution."

.  . . .
Kosovo is one of the first UN missions in which the police serve as proper officers, as opposed to monitors, and[b] there is a discipline code very similar to that of the British police force, he said. If an officer is caught in any of the 145 cafés or bars placed on the "off-limits list" - suspected of being used for prostitution or illegal activity - he is immediately sent home. "If you are sent home, if you have broken a police discipline code [in Kosovo] it is possible that your own force may choose to prosecute you [at home]," he said.[/b]


A UN spokesman said that all allegations of sexual impropriety were taken "very seriously". "It has been UN policy since the early 1990s that every allegation made to a UN peacekeeping mission is investigated," he said. "However, for effective action to be taken we require the active co-operation of any suspect's national authorities, as our powers are limited. We provide the results of our investigation to those authorities and follow up by asking for information about what action they have taken. We have developed new procedures to follow up with national authorities on the subsequent national investigations and institution of disciplinary proceedings."

Following the UNHCR-Save the Children report and the subsequent Oversight Office investigation, the UN had taken steps to review its procedures, strengthen adherence to them and to conduct more stringent follow-up with states on disciplinary measures they have taken against repatriated peacekeepers, he said.

Anyone found guilty of misconduct would not be permitted to work in United Nations peacekeeping again. "However," he added, "it is worthy of note that acts of serious misconduct are very rare and that all but a very few peacekeepers work hard to support the mandate, the mission and the peace process."

SMH

01 Jun 2009: ISS Paper 190: Peacekeeping and Post­conflict Criminality, Challenges to the (re) Establishment of Rule of Law in Liberia, Thembani Mbadl

Thembani Mbadlanyana and Freedom C Onuoha
Occasional Paper 190 , June 2009

www.iss.co.za/pgcontent.php">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:trt4ACSWctoJ:www.iss.co.za/pgcontent.php%3FUID%3D17427+NIgerian+Peacekeepers+in+Liberia+rape&cd=20&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

250,000 is statistically impossible. How dd they arrive at this number. Liberians are trying to emigrate to richer African countries like Nigeria and Ghana. This is a good way for a child and mother to emigrate, if you cant prove it with DNA, sorry, your loss

Peace keeping mission, what better way to keep peace than to show love?

@ Ezechue this isn't about Nigerian military been hated. Nigerian military did a very good job at helping African countries. This is about the cowards that are running from their responsibilities. Nigerian military has done many good deeds in Africa. But rape cases were reported during the war and there was no inquiry into it.

offtopic

all you nigeria must have a revolution noise makers

the rap-e of women by local paramiltaries and peacekeepers and child soldiers is just one of the nasty outcomes

Rather uncalled for from an Islamic terrorist apologist !!!

^^^^^

better go easy on that ganja - seems your gray matte is decaying at a faster rate than usual

LWKMD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU GO FEAR naija soldiers, thats why african brothers keep hating

Nigerian men continue to think from down below
How can our oil money be used to sponsor these people to do this
when were they keeping the peace?

oyb:

offtopic

all you nigeria must have a revolution noise makers

the rap-e of women by local paramiltaries and peacekeepers and child soldiers is just one of the nasty outcomes

it is an UNACCEPTABLE outcome and those guilty need to be punished regardless of what country they are from and what good the peacekeepers were able to do. These women were already ra-ped enough by the millitants that they were running away from. But some discovered they also have to deal with the same torture from those supposedly there to save them.

What is it? Do you folks think women enjoy being ra-ped or something? Do you also believe men enjoy being ra-ped as well?

We are no longer running around naked in bushes and chasing after spirits . . . we are not in the medieval ages. . . we are now in 2010 and in 2010 women and children are considered equally human beings, just as men have considered themselves for ages. And it is hightime we start dealing with issues that concern these equal in the eye of the law.

^^^

Kobojunkie:

it is an UNACCEPTABLE outcome and those guilty need to be punished regardless of what country they are from and what good the peacekeepers were able to do. These women were already ra-ped enough by the millitants that they were running away from. But some discovered they also have to deal with the same torture from those supposedly there to save them.

What is it? Do you folks think women enjoy being ra-ped or something? Do you also believe men enjoy being ra-ped as well?

We are no longer running around unclothed in bushes and chasing after spirits . . . we are not in the medieval ages. . . we are now in 2010 and in 2010 women and children are considered equally human beings, just as men have considered themselves for ages. And it is hightime we start dealing with issues that concern these equal in the eye of the law.

this is what i am saying.we have some people who do not know better constantly clamoring for 'bloody revolutions'

in the event that nigeria has a 'bloody revolution'

we will have in addition to wanton ra-pe of women (only one of the nasty outcomes/fallout)
child soldiers
psychotic paramilitaries headed by bloodthirsty warlords
millions of displaced nigerians as refugees within and without nigeria
all loving captured on tv by CNN
blood oil

kapish?