The UK government has come under fire from victims’ groups for failing to contribute to a UN fund for survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations staff.

A lawyer representing the mothers of the 11 “peacekeeper babies” in Haiti said survivors of UN abuse see the UK as “very glib about supporting victims”.

The fund was set up by the secretary general in March 2016, to provide medical, legal and other support, and to “place victims at the core” of its approach. So far, 19 member states – including Canada, Australia, Italy, Norway, India, Bangladesh and Albania – have made voluntary payments totalling $2m (£1.4m). The fund includes $370,000 (£265,000) of money withheld from UN personnel in cases where sexual abuse and exploitation allegations have been substantiated.

The Foreign Office said it has contributed £3m to “ending sexual abuse and exploitation” at the UN, but could not provide details on how much of the money would go to supporting survivors.

The criticism follows the international development secretary’s demand for British aid agencies to become world leaders in safeguarding, in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct by Oxfam aid workers in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010.

Sienna Merope-Synge, an attorney at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), said there was a “disconnect” between the UK government’s words and actions when it comes to survivors of exploitation.

“The UK is quick to talk about accountability when it comes to criticising other entities or countries,” she said. “That is important, but when it comes to supporting the real needs of victims that they claim to care about to rebuild their lives, the UK is not willing to put its money where its mouth is.”

Merope-Synge’s organisation represents 10 women who say they were sexually exploited by UN soldiers, and their 11 “peacekeeper babies”. She said the women are all struggling to feed their children. The women, one of whom alleges that she was raped, have filed the first legal action against the UN and individual peacekeeper soldiers in paternity and child support claims.



“We see the UK government talking about having victims’ voices heard,” said Merope-Synge. “They have talked about the need for zero tolerance and about leadership. But there are a whole bunch of victims of UN abuse who perceive the UK as very glib about supporting victims.”

The UK and the US have also come under fire for blocking the release of a multi-million dollar UN fund to provide relief to victims of the cholera outbreak that killed 10,000 people in Haiti. The outbreak was caused when infected UN peacekeepers from Nepal brought disease to the country in 2010.

More than 2,000 allegations of UN peacekeeper sexual abuse and exploitation, 300 of them involving children, were recorded between 2004 and 2016, according to an AP investigation.

Fred Carver, of the United Nations Association-UK, a charity that aims to build support for an effective UN, echoed the IJDH’s calls on the British government to contribute to the victims’ fund.

“As a permanent member of the security council and the main state responsible for drafting resolutions on peacekeeping, the UK has certain responsibilities and one of those should be toward victims,” said Carver.

Justice and support for victims of UN sexual abuse and exploitation is rare. The UN records 128 substantiated allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation involving uniformed personnel over the past decade, but just 39 have been jailed by national governments so far.

Research published last year by the charity Redress found measures to address the rights and needs of survivors of UN peacekeeper sexual abuse and exploitation, by the UN, the African Union and other international organisations were “limited and grossly inadequate”.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “The UK is 100% committed to ending sexual abuse and exploitation by those who are entrusted with protecting some of the most vulnerable people in the world. That’s why we have committed £3m to the issue, significantly more than the value of the UN trust fund.

“We are lobbying for change at the highest levels. The PM, foreign and development secretaries have all called on the UN secretary general to robustly tackle this abuse.”

The FCO said it was using its political influence to encourage all troop-supporting countries to put in place legislation to prosecute peacekeepers accused of crimes.