Sex Abuse Alleged In Liberian Camps

(AP)  Aid workers and U.N. peacekeepers are trading food and other goods for sex with children in camps housing Liberians uprooted by fighting during the west African nation's war, an international charity says.

Save the Children said the situation for children has not improved since the 1998-2002 civil war ended, and it called on the U.N. and humanitarian outfits to boost employee training, investigate all alleged sex crimes and report any violations to authorities.

The charity surveyed nearly 160 children and about 170 adults who were either living in camps or had recently returned home. The aid group said the subjects repeatedly told of girls having sex with older men for money, food and other goods.

"Based on the information gathered for this study, it appears that despite some initiatives to reduce sexual exploitation and abuse, little change has been affected to the lives of vulnerable children since 2002," the group said in a report published Monday.

"It is clear that the current monitoring systems are failing to identify the true scale of the exploitation of children."

The men cited included peacekeeping soldiers, aid workers, teachers and other powerful men in the community. The report did not give the nationality of aid workers or peacekeepers involved; aid groups generally employ both international and local staff.

About 17,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in Liberia to provide security in the aftermath of war in Liberia, where tens of thousands died in fighting and rape has commonly been used as a tool of intimidation. One-third of Liberia's 3 million people were uprooted by conflict.

Save the Children said it learned of transactional sex involving peacekeepers in every camp and community it visited where the U.N. troops are stationed.

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