U.N. troops held over sex crimes
(CNN) -- The Moroccan government has announced that six of its soldiers serving as peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been arrested on charges of sexually abusing Congolese civilians.
Among the six are the head of the Moroccan contingent in Congo and his deputy.
U.N. officials in Congo reacted positively to the announcement, saying the jailing of the suspects shows that the Moroccan authorities "attach as much importance to eradicating sexual abuse within U.N. peacekeeping missions as does the U.N."
But the U.N. mission in Congo also expressed hope the Moroccan decision to publicize the arrests should encourage other contributing countries to do the same.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard added that contributing nations are "clearly responsible" for the discipline of their soldiers engaged in U.N. peacekeeping missions, as well as for the judicial action resulting from their misconduct.
Eckhard said the role of the United Nations is to lay down "good clear guidelines."
A series of measures already has been taken in past weeks by the international organization.
Last week U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced a no-fraternization policy that forbids contact between U.N. peacekeepers and locals.
The areas around U.N. camps have also been cleared and police patrols increased.
However, human rights organizations have complained that the United Nations ignored the question of children who were born from sexual relations between peacekeepers and locals in food-for-sex exchanges.
The United Nations can have a court order a paternity test for any civilian personnel and deduct child support payments from the staffer salary.
However, for any military staff, national laws of their country apply.
In any case, the United Nations does not have the power to prosecute its military or civilian personnel suspected of sexual abuse.
The suspected offenders have to be sent home to face trial in their own countries.
