UN moves to help combat sexual abuse in its ranks

NEW YORK: The United Nations on Tuesday took steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within its ranks, naming an array of experts to a panel aimed at ending incidents of harassment that have plagued the global agency for years.

The panel will advise the UN secretary- general on ways to address gender-based harassment and abuse by UN staff and UNrelated forces, according to a statement issued by the Office of Secretary- General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has been trying to increase transparency and strengthen how it deals with such accusations over the past few years, particularly a string of sexual exploitation and abuse claims made against UN peacekeepers in Africa.

A report released by the UN said one- third of its staff and contractors had experienced sexual harassment in the past two years. The survey was completed by more than 30,000 people from the UN and its agencies and contractors.

The effort comes amid the wider # MeToo movement around the world against sexual harassment and assault.

In an editorial in Tuesday’s New York Daily News on the ‘ maddeningly slow’ pace of # MeToo at the UN, former staff member Katrin Park wrote that the global agency has had an ‘antiMe-Too culture’ and been largely silent about sexual abuse.

“The diplomatic corps is an old boys’ club,” Park wrote, adding, “Transparency is not the UN’s strong suit.”

The panel will help devise measures for prevention and accountability, part of a broader strategy the secretary- general laid out in 2017, his office said. — Reuters