Phnom Penh (FN), Sept. 25 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, on Wednesday, announced to support the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping operations.

“As a member of the Circle of Leadership (CoL), I reaffirmed the Royal Government’s commitment in strongly supporting and implementing the zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping operations as well as joining with member states of the CoL to collectively unite to prevent such acts,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“This is a moral imperative and an operational necessity to ensure the effectiveness and credibility of the UN,” added the Premier.

“Acknowledging that peacekeepers must be accountable to the people they serve, Cambodian blue helmets, who are currently serving missions in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Cyprus, Lebanon and Mali, have strictly adhered to the said policy with high responsibility, dignity, and morality as well as strict discipline,” the premier stated, adding that:

“Although their offences are the shared responsibility of the UN and its Member States, perpetrators who commit sexual exploitation and abuse must be held personally and legally accountable to their acts.”
=FRESH NEWS