Bangladeshi peacekeepers have made the country proud with their good work the world over. But there is a dark side to the activities of our peacekeeping forces which threaten to undo the good reputation we have earned over the years by being a major contributing nation to the United Nations Peacekeeping mission — sexual exploitation and abuse. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then, should be applauded for her firm stance that sexual violence perpetrated by members of the peacekeeping forces will not be tolerated. To that end, PM Hasina has announced a $100,000 contribution to the victim support fund to weed out sexual abuse in the peacekeeping forces. It is time to reaffirm our pledge of peacekeeping to the world, and we can do so by taking a strong and clear stand against sexual abuse.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 19, 2017 15:45 UTC