NEW YORK
The head of the UN mission in the Central African Republic resigned Wednesday following a series of sexual and other abuse allegations involving peacekeepers deployed in the country.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York that he accepted the resignation of his Special Representative Babacar Gaye of Senegal.
"I want to be clear that this problem goes far beyond one mission or one conflict or one person", Ban said.
"Sexual exploitation and abuse is a global scourge and a systemic challenge that demands a systemic response", he added.
London-based Amnesty International published a report Tuesday that claimed UN peacekeepers raped a 12-year-old girl and fatally shot a father and his son while shooting indiscriminately in the streets after armed clashes.
“An independent civilian investigation must be urgently launched and those implicated must be suspended immediately and for the duration of the investigation”, said Joanne Mariner, Senior Crisis Response Adviser at the group.
The UN has also been under international scrutiny over its handling of claims of child sexual abuse last year by French soldiers stationed in the country as part of international peacekeeping efforts.
The UN launched an external investigation into the organization’s handling of allegations.
UN peacekeepers in recent months have also faced additional claims of rape and sexual abuse.
"I believe the disturbing number of allegations we have seen in many countries -- but particularly in the Central African Republic in the period before UN peacekeepers were deployed and since -- speaks to the need to take action now," Ban said Wednesday.
"Enough is enough", he added.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic, or MINUSCA, was deployed in April 2014 in a bid to end violence between Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian militias that has left at least 6,000 people dead since early 2013.
