Page 24 - miin soc 14th APRIL,2016
P. 24
U.S. NEWS A3
Thursday 14 April 2016
Senators: Cut off money over sex crimes by UN peacekeepers
Associated Press er called the allegations tral African Republic and sex for money or food. by countries contributing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Re- “moral depravity” and said Congo. The U.N. reported The United States, the larg- troops to peacekeeping
publicans and Democrats he’d rush home to Ten- 69 allegations of sexual est financial contributor to missions “to deal with this is-
on Wednesday expressed nessee to protect his fam- abuse and exploitation U.N. peacekeeping opera- sue in the transparent way
disgust over dozens of ily if he learned that U.N. by peacekeepers in 2015. tions, should exercise its le- that it must be dealt with.”
sexual abuse allegations peacekeepers were being Corker and other senators verage more aggressively if Corker and other com-
against United Nations sent there. U.S. laws make it demanded to know why the U.N. continues to drag mittee members pressed
peacekeepers and called unlikely that peacekeepers U.N. Secretary-General Ban its feet, the senators add- State Department officials
on the State Department to would ever be dispatched Ki-moon and other senior ed. “How do we put up with on whether they have
help end the abuse by cut- to the United States. U.N. officials have allowed such inept leadership at used a U.S. human rights
ting off foreign aid to coun- The U.N. in recent months the persistent problem to the United Nations?” Cork- law known as the Leahy
tries that won’t hold their has faced a series of alle- fester. A 2005 U.N. report er asked. Isobel Coleman, amendment to refuse for-
troops accountable. gations of sexual abuses, documented episodes of the U.S. representative at eign aid to countries whose
At a Foreign Relations including child rapes, by sexual exploitation and the U.N. for management peacekeepers sexually
Committee hearing, panel its peacekeepers, espe- abuse by peacekeepers, and reform, said it’s not in- abuse the people they are
chairman Sen. Bob Cork- cially those based in Cen- including the exchange of eptitude but a reluctance sent to protect.q
Obama to visit CIA as US weighs next steps on Islamic State
JOSH LEDERMAN port for the fight, includ- President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, speaks at the CIA Headquarters
Associated Press ing a likely increase in U.S. in Langley, Va., Wednesday, April 13, 2016, after a meeting with his National Security Council.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- forces, along with the Obama pays a rare visit to CIA headquarters as the United States weighs sending more forces to
dent Barack Obama was possible use of Apache Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.
paying a rare visit to CIA helicopters for Iraqi-led
headquarters Wednesday combat missions. “There (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
as the United States weighs continues to be a steady
sending more forces to Iraq effort to ramp up the pres- has raised difficult ques- attacks on U.S.-supported a drawdown in warplanes
to fight the Islamic State sure against ISIL targets tions about how to pro- opposition groups. Rus- but said strikes would con-
group. in Syria and Iraq,” White ceed if the truce falls sia, which had been sup- tinue against IS and the al-
In a meeting with top na- House spokesman Josh apart, freeing Syrian Presi- porting Assad with an air Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
tional security advisers, Earnest said. Those dis- dent Bashar Assad and his campaign against his op- Both groups are excluded
Obama planned to get cussions have played out Russian backers to resume ponents, recently ordered from the ceasefire. q
an update on the U.S.-led amid growing fighting in
campaign in Syria and Iraq Syria between the govern-
as well as the diplomatic ment and militants that has
efforts to resolve Syria’s civil threatened to jeopardize
war. The meeting comes a fragile ceasefire the U.S.
the week before Obama and Russia brokered earlier
travels to Saudi Arabia for this year. Just as Obama
a summit with Persian Gulf headed to the CIA, peace
leaders focused largely on talks were resuming in Ge-
the Islamic State threat. neva aimed at resolving
Though the U.S. has Syria’s civil war and laying
claimed progress in tak- the groundwork for a transi-
ing back territory from the tional government, though
extremist group, especially deep disagreements con-
in Iraq, Defense Secretary tinue on who should par-
Ash Carter has said the ticipate.
Pentagon is seeking ways For the U.S. and its part-
to increase military sup- ners, the violence in Syria
US: Forced labor continues on Thai fishing vessels
WASHINGTON (AP) — The report finds that the lack of clarity in law and of workers in the seafood documents where they
The U.S. State Department Thai government has reaf- practice on what consti- processing industry were were subjected to brutal
said Wednesday that firmed its “zero tolerance” tutes forced labor or debt migrant workers, it says. labor abuses. Some had
forced labor on Thai fishing policy for human trafficking bondage undermined the The department cites the been enslaved for years or
vessels has continued in the and updated many laws government’s efforts to AP investigative series on decades.
past year despite legal re- that enhance regulatory identify labor trafficking vic- slavery in the seafood in- Later in the year, the de-
forms and arrests following powers and increase pun- tims and prosecute forced dustry that resulted in the partment will issue a sepa-
an Associated Press inves- ishment for violations. An labor.” rescue of 2,000 men, a doz- rate report that focuses on
tigation into the country’s amended anti-trafficking Reports of abusive work en arrests, millions of dollars’ human trafficking and ex-
seafood industry. law provides protection to environments, including worth of seizures, closure of ploitative labor and ranks
The department made the whistleblowers and gives forced labor, continued some shrimp-peeling sheds, governments on their per-
assessment in its annual authorities the power to in many sectors, includ- and proposals for new na- formance in combating
global review of human halt operations temporar- ing Thai-flagged seagoing tional laws. those abuses. Thailand,
rights practices, released in ily or suspend licenses of trawlers and labor-intensive The men, mostly from along with Iran, Syria and
Washington by Secretary of businesses and vehicles industries such as food and Myanmar, Cambodia and Zimbabwe, was last year
State John Kerry. The report involved in human traffick- seafood processing facili- Laos, were recruited in among 23 countries receiv-
covers the 2015 calendar ing. ties, according to the de- Thailand and brought to ing the lowest ranking in the
year. But the report says, “the partment. Up to 90 percent Indonesia using fake travel annualU.S. assessment. q
