UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed outrage on Wednesday over reports of widespread child abuse at the hands of relief workers in refugee camps in West Africa.

The children, mostly in camps in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, were subjected to sexual abuse in return for food and medicine, according to a joint report by the UNHCR and Save the Children, a London-based relief agency.

Workers implicated in the abuses included those employed by NGOs, UN peacekeepers, and UN staffers. Annan reiterated the UN policy of “zero tolerance” for such offences perpetrated by employees or affiliates of the world body.

According to the latest report, relief workers in all three countries used “the very humanitarian aid and services intended to benefit the refugee population as a tool of exploitation.”

Carol Bellamy, executive director of the UNICEF, added she was “particularly outraged that some humanitarian workers have betrayed the trust of the children they are charged to assist and protect.”

The 19-page UNHCR-Save the Children study, “Sexual Violence and Exploitation: the Experience of Refugee Children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone”, includes testimony from children recorded late last year, during a 40-day mission.

According to the report, most of the alleged “exploiters” were male national staff and traded humanitarian commodities and services for sex with girls under 18.

The practice was particularly pronounced in refugee camps with significant and established aid programmes. In addition to aid workers, the study cites allegations of sexual exploitation against children by international peacekeepers and community leaders.

According to the study, children and adults spoke of teenage girls being asked to strip naked, bathe and pose in certain positions while peacekeepers took pictures, watched and laughed. Some are alleged to have had sex with the girls without using condoms.

UN peacekeepers were reportedly among the highest paying customers for sex with children. They paid from $5 to $300 for sex. Some peacekeepers are alleged to pool money to obtain a girl and for collective sex.

“The position of power, wealth and status enjoyed by peacekeeping personnel gives them the ability to do as they wish,” the study says.

In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, local people spoke about the behaviour of “the boys in blue helmets” with a feeling of helplessness and sadness, according to the report. —Dawn/InterPress Service.