UN receives 38 allegations of sexual abuse in Q2

The United Nations received 38 allegations involving UN personnel of sexual exploitation and abuse for the second quarter of 2019, a UN spokesman said Thursday.

At a press briefing, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief, said of these allegations, 24 are related to personnel of agencies, funds and programs, and 14 are related to civilian and uniformed personnel in peace operations.

In total, there are 43 victims, he said, 19 women and 10 girls, one man and two boys, 10 females of unknown age and one unknown victim who has not been identified.

Twelve of those allegations are categorized as sexual abuse, 19 as sexual exploitation, two are of an unknown nature, and 10 have been categorized as "other," he added.

Of the 38, he said, one has been substantiated through an investigation and eight related to uniformed personnel have been referred to the member states for further investigation, two allegations were not substantiated, and 16 allegations are at various stages of investigation.

He continued to say that 13 are under preliminary assessment to determine if there is sufficient information to investigate, two allegations are under review as limited information is provided, and four have been closed.

"We also received 39 allegations involving non-UN personnel working for implementing partners. These allegations involve 42 victims and 39 perpetrators," Dujarric added.

The spokesman said that to enhance transparency, the United Nations will publish monthly updates on the status of allegations previously reported since the world body began quarterly reporting in 2017.