November 13, 2007: The UN is
trying to crack down on misbehavior of peacekeepers. For example, it has
prohibited peacekeepers from having sex with prostitutes. In order to make that
point, the UN recently ordered 11 percent of a 950 man Sri Lankan infantry
battalion to return home, and be charged with a crime. But there is no Sri
Lankan law against soldiers patronizing prostitutes. In fact, most Sri Lankans
are indignant that their troops are being treated like this. Some of the troops
have been accused of using underage prostitutes, but this is seen by Sri
Lankans as unproven and an attempt to discredit the Sri Lankan army.
As a result of all this, the
UN will have trouble getting more peacekeepers from Sri Lanka, and other
nations as well, in the future. But at the same time, the UN is under pressure
from many Western NGOs (especially European ones) that provide the bulk of the
aid workers in areas where the peacekeepers are providing security, to help
halt prostitution. This also creates a hostile atmosphere between the
peacekeepers and some of the NGOs.
