UNMEE seeking official information on sex case

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is anxious to establish good cooperation with the Italian government over the issue of alleged sex offences by an Italian peacekeeper in Eritrea earlier this year. The allegations, concerning an Italian peacekeeper having sex with an underage prostitute, only came to the attention of UNMEE through reports in the Italian media, rather than by way of official notification by the Italian government, diplomatic sources said. There have been meetings between representatives of UNMEE and the Italian government to discuss the issues involved. UNMEE has been attempting to get detailed information from the Italian military prosecutor's office in Padua, which is handling the case, in order to pursue a full and thorough investigation, the source said. An UNMEE briefing said on 31 August that the name of the peacekeeper had not been made availiable to UNMEE, and that the mission "hopes that official information will be made available by the Italian government". The Italian peacekeeper involved is no longer on mission in Eritrea. UNMEE has said in an official statement that it considers the allegations concerning sexual abuse very serious, and declared it would conduct an investigation. "The Mission has zero tolerance towards such acts, and will do its utmost to quickly and thoroughly establish the facts."