They also raped in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Resolution adopted on combating sexual crimes by UN peacekeepers

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution on returning peacekeeping units to their home countries when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that their members have committed sexual violence in the countries where they serve as peacekeepers, Patria reports.

This resolution addresses, for the first time, the issue of rising sexual abuse by members of UN peacekeeping forces.

The UN expresses concern over ongoing allegations of sexual exploitation by UN peacekeepers. In a report last week, the UN stated that there were a total of 69 allegations of sexual abuse against civilian personnel and military and police personnel from 21 countries deployed in missions in 2015. As many as 22 cases were reported in the Central African Republic and 16 cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The world was also horrified several years ago when it was revealed that UN peacekeepers raped women during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The then-commander of UN forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lewis MacKenzie, was also accused.

The motel "Sonja" in Vogošća, which, according to UN reports, was used by Serb forces as a rape camp for Bosniak and Croat women, was, according to eyewitness accounts, visited in 1992 by the then-commander of UN forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lewis MacKenzie.

MacKenzie, against whom the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo launched an investigation and which has testimonies from several women who confirmed that the Canadian general came to the camp, attended, and personally raped female prisoners, does not heed this.

-  A lot of time has passed since I was the commander of forces in Bosnia until the time when allegations emerged that I raped prisoners. The investigation conducted by the UN cleared me of guilt - MacKenzie commented.

Regarding him, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor said that he is "hiding behind the immunity provided to him by the international community," to which MacKenzie responded that the UN decides on any potential lifting of immunity and that he will "certainly respect the UN's decisions."

The "Kon Tiki" restaurant, better known as "Sonja," in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Vogošća, is, according to UN reports, the most notorious center for the abuse of non-Serb women during the siege of Sarajevo. For instance, two girls, aged seven and thirteen, were raped there in front of their parents by 20 Serbian soldiers, the UN states.

According to the writings of award-winning journalist Roy Guttman, UN soldiers were regular visitors to the "brothel" run by Serbs. They were also accused of sexually exploiting Bosniak and Croat women who served as sex slaves. Several surviving rape victims testified that UN members also participated in the abuse against them, Patria writes.