[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website]passed a resolution [text] Friday to increase protections against sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. The resolution was almost unanimously passed with only one country, Egypt, abstaining. The resolution would require the country where the abuse occurs to handle the issue through its own criminal justice system. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] released a statement [text] in support of the new measure: “The Secretary-General is pleased that the Members of the Security Council have echoed the concerns that he has been raising for months in order to shine a light on a difficult issue.”

In early March Ban released a report [JURIST Report] finding a rise in allegations against UN peacekeepers of sexual abuse and exploitation. In December Ban made a pledge to review allegations [text, PDF] that found the UN had not responded properly to information regarding crimes by non-UN soldiers upon children in the Central African Republic (CAR). In February the UN identified seven new possible victims [press release] of abuse in the nation. In January UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official profile] said his office was investigating allegations of sexual abuse [press release] against children in the CAR by EU forces [JURIST report].