Kenya disputes UN probe accusing Haiti mission of sexual abuse

NAIROBI, April 9 (Reuters) - ‌Kenya has ​disputed ​a U.N. report saying an investigation had found substantiated allegations of sexual abuse involving ‌members of a U.N.-backed anti-gang force in Haiti ⁠that is staffed mostly by Kenyan police officers.

In a ‌report dated February 16 and ‌first reported on last week, the U.N. said four allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse from ​last year against the force had been substantiated by its Human Rights Office.

In a letter ⁠to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week, Kenya's Foreign Minister Musalia ​Mudavadi said the allegations had been looked into by a Kenyan board of inquiry and "found ​to be unsubstantiated".

"Investigations conducted were ‌impartial and shared with all relevant stakeholders, including U.N. human rights offices," Mudavadi ⁠wrote.

A U.N. representative in Kenya did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday.

Kenya supplies most ⁠of the personnel to the roughly 1,000-strong force, which first ​deployed in June 2024 to combat the gangs that control most of Haiti's capital.

There were widespread sexual abuse and exploitation ‌accusations, including allegations of child victims, against U.N. peacekeepers under the MINUSTAH mission ‌in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. Only a ⁠few peacekeepers were prosecuted ‌by their home ​countries.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Aaron Ross and Hugh ‌Lawson)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Republicans see opportunity in progressives' primary wins while Democrats embrace debate
• Germany's AfD eyes Saxony-Anhalt win as first step toward federal power
• Putin wants to draft 300,000 new troops, Zelenskiy says