UN chief regrets peacekeeper abuse, Haiti cholera at last meet

UNITED NATIONS

AFP photo

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 20 expressed regret for sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers in Central African Republic and an outbreak of cholera in Haiti during his final address to the annual gathering of world leaders in New York. 

Ban told the U.N. General Assembly that these two matters had “tarnished the reputation of the United Nations and, far worse, traumatized many people we serve.” Ban will step down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms. 

The United Nations has promised to crack down on abuses after dozens of accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation by  peacekeepers in Central African Republic, where U.N. troops assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. 

Meanwhile, the gap between the funds available for refugees and the number of refugees “remains enormous,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said.

“The gap between the funds that we have and the funds that we need remains enormous,” Kerry told the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants on Sept. 19. “We would be even more satisfied if the need were ended.”

The United Nations adopted a non-binding declaration on Sept. 19, signed by 193 nations, that calls on countries that can accept more refugees for resettlement to do so, and for wealthier nations to spend more on humanitarian aid.