UN probes its Congo troops for trading with rebels

Kinshasa, July 14: The United Nations is investigating allegations that Indian peacekeepers in Congo traded food and even military intelligence with Rwandan Hutu rebels in return for gold, UN officials said today.

The investigation is one of a series, including a probe authorized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, into the 17,000-strong UN mission in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The operation is credited with organizing the country's first democratic polls in 40 years but tarnished by allegations ranging from sexual abuse to killings.

Kemal Saiki, spokesman for the UN mission in Congo, confirmed media reports of the allegations made against Indian peacekeepers in eastern Congo's troubled North Kivu province.

''We acknowledge there were accusations. Following these allegations, our procedures kicked in and an investigation by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was launched,'' he said, in reference to the UN watchdog in New York.

Rights campaigners expressed concern the scandals could damage the reputation of UN peacekeeping missions. Human Rights Watch has accused the United Nations of stalling on earlier investigations, involving Pakistani troops.

In New York, Ban announced that the peacekeeping department was sending a ''management audit team'' to Kinshasa ''to obtain a full picture of various recent allegations of serious misconduct against UN personnel.'' According to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, ''The management team will look at why these issues surfaced, what could be done to strengthen the management of (the mission) to be more pro-active on these things,'' while the OIOS would investigate the actual allegations.

Despite last year's historic polls, the vast, mineral-rich Central African country still suffers from violence at the hands of armed militias, foreign rebel groups, and its own army, particularly in the east.

Large areas of North Kivu along the border with neighbouring Rwanda are under the control of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu-dominated rebel movement.

The FDLR is composed in part of former Interahamwe militia who fled to Congo after taking part in the genocide in Rwanda that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994.

In Congo, they are accused of grave human rights abuses in areas under their control, and recent fighting between the foreign rebels and Tutsi-dominated Congolese army brigades have driven more than 165,000 people from their homes since February, according to the UN World Food Program.

Past Allegations

Earlier this month, an OIOS report on similar allegations against Pakistani peacekeepers in Congo's northeastern Ituri district found the troops had indeed colluded with a local armed group to smuggle gold out of the country.

Another investigation into the alleged torture and killings of Ituri militia members by Bangladeshi UN soldiers is currently under way.

Punishment of peacekeepers found to have committed crimes while serving with the United Nations is left at the discretion of their home countries. Human rights campaigners say national armies have a poor record of disciplining their troops.

Anneke Van Woudenberg, a Congo researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, said that while she could not confirm the latest allegations of misconduct, ongoing abuses in Congo were hurting UN efforts worldwide.

''These guys should be held up to the highest standards, if international peacekeeping is to work,'' she said.

Reuters>