Fox News, 22 Jan 2002
Is the U.N. Running Brothels in Bosnia?
By Wendy McElroy
If prostitution is illegal in Bosnia, then why — in the presence of some
20,000 NATO peacekeepers and thousands of other U.N. officials, policemen
and aid workers — has sexual trafficking in the region become an
international scandal?
One answer may be that the United Nation's police force may be turning a
blind eye or, even worse, participating in the sex trafficking itself. It
certainly seems that, as the scandal emerges, the corruption reaches upward
into the United Nations.
Last summer, American Kathryn Bolkovac, a former Nebraska police woman, was
fired from the U.N.'s International Police Task Force. Bolkovac claims it
was because she spoke out against the United Nation's involvement in sex
trafficking. Through interviews with 85 women coerced into sex, Bolkovac
learned that U.N. officers were not only using the women for sex but also
seemed to be active in the business end — for example, the forging of
documents to transport young girls across national borders.
The young girls are from desperately poor nations like Romania. Many
reportedly answer ads for "legitimate" work only to be kidnapped, taken
across borders and enslaved in brothels that operate with the full
knowledge of the local authorities.
After Bolkovac advised various U.N. officials about the sex ring, IPTF
Deputy Commissioner Mike Stiers decided that Bolkovac was psychologically
worn out. Although an extension of her contract had been recommended prior
to the e-mail, she was transferred to a suburb of Sarajevo, then fired.
Bolkovac stated, "Those responsible ... did not want to hear about this."
Douglas Coffman, a spokesman for the United Nations in Sarajevo, denied the
accusation, but Bolkovac is the not the first to hurl it. Stories of U.N.
corruption were already appearing in the European press. David Lamb, a
former Philadelphia policeman working as a U.N. human rights investigator
in central Bosnia, leveled even more serious charges. He provided evidence
that IPTF members were directly linked to forcing girls into prostitution.
Most prominently, he named two Romanian officers who sold women directly to
brothels. Lamb filed his findings. He found that "the opposition of the
central [U.N.] Mission Headquarters was unbelievable."
The Washington Post reported on what happened next. "The United Nations
quashed an investigation ... into whether U.N. police were directly
involved in the enslavement of Eastern European women in Bosnian brothels,
according to U.N. officials and internal documents."
Another difficulty in assessing the situation is that U.N. officials do not
admit that anything is amiss. When asked about Lamb's allegations against
the Romanian officers, Jacques Klein — the U.N. secretary general's special
representative to Bosnia — declared, "I have absolutely no evidence, no
record, and I'm unaware of any internal investigation into any alleged
misconduct involving a Romanian police monitor."
A few weeks later, confidential U.N. documents revealed that Lamb had
notified several U.N. officials about the two Romanians. Moreover, after
Lamb departed, a Canadian officer, the Romanian government and an
anti-corruption unit of the United Nations investigated the case in turn.
Rosario Ioanna, the Canadian, issued a report similar to Lamb's,
complaining that local U.N. authorities tried to close down the
investigation. Yet the United Nations refuses to allow the Romanian
policemen to be interviewed.
Subsequent U.N. investigations appear to be cosmetic. For example, an
inquiry was instigated but, according to the Post, investigators didn't
bother to contact Lamb or other whistleblowers. Not surprisingly, the
inquiry found insufficient grounds to probe further.
The character revealed by the United Nations in Bosnia is particularly
significant today. The agency is pushing hard to become a global
government. In March, the U.N.'s High Level Panel of Financing Development
will meet in Mexico and endorse recommendations that are expected to
include: a World Taxing Authority, global taxes on fossil fuel and/or on
all currency exchange and U.N. supervision of all international finance.
As the United Nations pushes for jurisdiction over the globe, it is
important to remember how it has acted in Bosnia. The character of an
institution, no less than of an individual, is revealed through actions,
not words. It is revealed in the small behaviors. Such as the willingness
to watch or participate in the selling of young girls into the living hell
of Bosnian brothels.
The U.S. is the most powerful force opposing the United Nations. If America
refuses to meet U.N. demands — and, as yet, the U.S. has not even paid its
U.N. fees — then worldwide government will fail. If U.N. policy in Bosnia
is a microcosm of what globalization would look like, then an autonomous
and dissenting U.S. becomes the hope of the world.
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