Top Haitian human rights lawyer slams UN over sexual misconduct allegations

The case of two Quebec police officers who avoided disciplinaryhearings into allegations of sexual misconduct by retiring points to systemic problems involvingthe United Nations inHaiti, says one of thatcountry's leading human rights lawyers.

Mario Joseph says countries such asCanada need to have a legal frameworkin place to ensure peacekeepers accused of fathering a child or sexualabuse face justice.

"There need to be laws to deal with this," Joseph said Wednesday in aninterview in Montreal, where he was part of a World Social Forum panelon peacekeeping inHaiti.

Often, the worst punishment they face is repatriation, he said.

• Quebec police retire before hearings over alleged sexual misconduct in Haiti
• Haiti case points to loopholesallowing cops to avoid disciplinary action

Last month, CBC News reported that aSretduQubecsergeant underinvestigation for sleeping withHaitianwomen while working as aUnited Nations peacekeeper was able to evade a disciplinary hearing byretiring days before the hearing was to begin.

In another case, an SQ sergeant who allegedly solicited sex from aHaitianprostitute retired last year before the police force hadscheduled his disciplinary hearing.

Both SQ officers avoided any potential punishment by retiring.

9 women take legal action

Joseph, the managing attorney of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, headquartered in Port-au-Prince, sent a legal notice to the UN and a Haitian government minister on behalf of nine women who allegedly had children fathered bypeacekeepers.

The UN has 30 days to respond or could face a civil suit from the women, who are seeking support from the fathers of their children.

• Women seek support for UN 'peacekeeper babies'

One of the women was 17 when she had her child, Joseph said.

The peacekeepers in these cases are from Uruguay and Argentina, he said, but he is also looking into cases involving Canadians.

"I have heard of cases involving Canadians, but I can't provide details," he said.

The women are left to pay for their education, food and everything else.It constitutes a violation of the rights of the child.- Mario Joseph, Haitian lawyer

Joseph is hoping the lawsuit encouragesother women to come forward.

"This phenomenon of 'blue helmet babies' is well known in Haitiand constitutes a form of sexual exploitation," Joseph said.

"There are grave consequences. The women are left to pay for their education, food and everything else.It constitutes a violation of the rights of the child."

Zero tolerance?

At least two officers with the Montreal police service fathered children while working as peacekeepers in Haiti, CBC's French-language service, Radio-Canada, reported earlier this year.

• Trudeau urged to help make UN peacekeepers accountable for sexual misconduct

The RCMP has also confirmed that a Mountie faces allegations of sexual exploitation or abuse for an incident that occurred duringa peacekeeping mission abroad, though itwouldn't provide any details about the case, citing confidentiality.

TheRCMP, which oversees Canada's UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), strictly prohibits intimate or sexual relations with members of the local population, due to "the difference in real or perceived power and authority."

As well, the UN has "a zero tolerance policy with respect to sexual exploitation and abuse," according to its website.

A total of 29 claims for paternity have been submitted to the UN in Haiti, Ghandi Shukry, the head of a conduct and discipline unit for MINUSTAH, told Associated Press earlier this year.

He said 18 of the claimants have been classified as "victims" by the world body because they were receiving some kind of support.

Joseph believes there are more cases, but he said somewomen don't want to come forward for fear of being stigmatized.

Joseph's law firm also is involved in a high-profile claim on behalf of 5,000 cholera victims who blame the UN for introducing the disease.

A U.S. federal appeals panel in New York is weighing whether the lawsuit can proceed or whetherthe United Nations is entitled to immunity.