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Published 13 Mar, 2012 05:04pm

Pakistan UN peacekeepers jailed for Haiti sex abuse

UNITED NATIONS: Three Pakistani police in the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti have been found guilty of sexual abuse and ordered jailed, the UN said Tuesday.

The three police were at the center of one of two new sexual abuse investigations involving UN police in the Caribbean nation announced in January.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said a court-martial had been held by the Pakistani military in Haiti and the three had been found guilty, ordered jailed and repatriated.

“A senior Pakistani official visited Haiti on March 8 and 9 to meet with Haitian authorities and informed them that three individuals were found guilty of sexual exploitation and abuse through a court martial proceeding undertaken in accordance with the national laws of Pakistan,” Nesirky told a press briefing.

The three will be imprisoned and given a dishonorable discharge on their return to Pakistan, the UN mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, was told, according to the spokesman. Details of the prison term were not immediately known.

“The guilty parties have been repatriated and the United Nations is further liaising with the Pakistani authorities to examine the formal details of the procedures and to ensure a followup,” Nesirky added.

The three Pakistani police were based at a UN camp in the city of Gonaives. The UN said in January that it was also investigating allegations against UN police in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Details of that case have not been released.

The UN mission in Haiti has been rocked by a series of abuse scandals. Last year Uruguayan troops were accused of raping a Haitian youth after a video was posted on the Internet.

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