A three-member delegation has been deployed to South Sudan to investigate the sexual assault allegedly committed by some Ghanaian Police peacekeepers sent to that country at the behest of the United Nations (UN).
This was disclosed to journalists on Wednesday February 28, 2018 in Accra, by the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Derry.
According to him, the UN granted the request for the Ghanaian delegation to also independently investigate the issue.
[contextly_sidebar id=”IQZsAOQQlPxTptOhVAmmMyTXOb0xfPex”]“The UN has agreed that our team should go there and investigate,” he said.
Some members of a Ghanaian police unit working with the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan are being investigated for breaching the UN’s sexual exploitation and abuse rules.
The unit in question has also been recalled.
The investigation into the conduct of the officers began after reports that they were having transactional sex with women living in one of the protection camps with gifts or favours given in exchange for the encounters.
Mr. Derry, who spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a wreath laying ceremony held for servicemen who lost their lives in the February 28 crossroad shooting, said he was hit hard by reports of the alleged sexual misconduct by the Ghanaian soldiers.
“As the Minister for Interior the allegation hit me hard… It is still under investigation and we will be the first to bring to book any Ghanaian we find who has breached the rules, and the UN allowing us to independently investigate the matter shows that they believe we are going to contribute constructively to it,” he added.
We’ll cooperate with UN probe – Police
The Police Administration had promised to cooperate fully with the UN in the investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a statement released by the Police after the news broke, the Police Administration conveyed “its fullest cooperation and support to investigate the alleged sexual exploitation and abuse case.”
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin