Stop protecting peacekeepers who rape, Ban Ki-Moon tells UN member states

The Guardian (UK) reports:

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has called on countries whose soldiers are responsible for rape and sexual exploitation on peacekeeping missions to stop covering for their crimes and put them on trial.

Ban said sexual violence by peacekeepers was “a number one priority” after a series of severely embarrassing revelations of rape and exploitation, often involving children.

UN officials acknowledge that the organisation has failed sufficiently to address the issue, in part because of the threat by some countries to pull their peacekeepers out of UN operations if they are publicly named and shamed.

Here is a link to UN Peacekeeping Operations.