Say Anything Blog

Yet, strangely, this story never seems to get as much media attention as the Catholic priest sex scandals did.  Or even as much attention as the abuses by US personnel at Abu Ghraib prison got.  Which is odd.

UN aid workers and “peacekeepers” raping children around the world: Not significant news.  One isolated incident of US soldiers mistreating prisoners of war: Headline news.

And it’s worse than that.  The United Nations has acted as a forum for a never ending stream of criticism of America over the invasion of Iraq.  Yet within the last five years it would seem that America’s major international accomplishment has been the liberation of millions of Iraqis and Afghanis from under the cruel boot of oppression while the UN’s major international accomplishment has been rape and child abuse.

But guess who gets to serve as the international community’s (not to mention American Democrats’ ) scapegoat for everything that’s wrong with the world?

LONDON (Reuters) - Sexual abuse of children by aid workers and peacekeepers is rife and efforts to protect young people are inadequate, said a report published on Tuesday.

The study by charity Save the Children UK said there were significant levels of abuse in emergencies, much of it unreported and unless the silence ended, attempts to stamp out exploitation would “remain fundamentally flawed.”

Accusations of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers around the world have increased in recent years and the United Nations is investigating claims against its soldiers in hotspots such as Haiti, Liberia, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report said while the U.N. and some non-governmental organizations were stepping up efforts to address the problem, a global watchdog should be established this year to monitor attempts to tackle abuse and champion effective responses.

Keep in mind that just under 1/4 of the UN’s overall $4.19 billion annual budget is provided by American taxpayers.  Meaning that all these UN workers who are raping children in Africa and other places are being paid, for the most part, with our tax dollars.

How does that make you feel?