Policing the United Nations

The BBC reports on evidence of a UN cover-up of the activities of some of its peacekeepers in the Republic of Congo.

In an investigation over 18 months, the BBC's Martin Plaut has found evidence that United Nations has been involved in covering up allegations that some of its peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo dealt in gold and supplied weapons to some of the most notorious militia operating in the country.

The allegations, drawn from confidential UN sources, concern two contingents:

- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia, providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines.

- Indian peacekeepers operating around the town of Goma had direct dealings with the FDLR, the militia responsible for the Rwandan genocide, which is now living in eastern Congo.

Indian soldiers traded gold with these killers, bought drugs from them and - astonishingly - flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory. These allegations are contained in the report of an investigation dated February 2008.

The UN looked into the allegations concerning the Pakistanis. It concluded that whilst one major had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town but "in the absence of corroborative evidence", the investigators "could not substantiate the allegation" that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia. 

Produced by the world's most respected news source, the BBC World Service is a 24-hour news service that gives listeners access to the latest world news, expert analysis, commentary, features, and interviews on issues of the day. Distributed exclusively in the U.S. by PRI.

More BBC World Service.