French court closes case of UN/French Soldiers Charged in Rape cases in African Republic

No French soldier accused of rape and sexual abuse by over 100 children from the Central African Republic in 2016, will be prosecuted, reported French judicial sources Thursday.

The investigation, opened in France in May 2016, was officially closed in December 2016, said Agnes Thibault-Leroux from the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Judges found that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence and therefore decided not to press charges, she added, according to the daily Le Monde.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that it was now up to prosecutors to appeal the decision.

“So obviously we’ll keep an eye on this. But as we’ve said, it is the responsibility of member states to fully investigate and hopefully prosecute crimes. The fight against impunity for these horrendous actions has to be a partnership between the U.N. and member states,” he said.

The soldiers were part of France’s military Operation Sangaris, which was sent to the Central African Republic in December 2013 under the guise of combatting an internal conflict.

However, since July 2014 the force has been under growing pressure following the emergence of allegations of child rape by French soldiers deployed in the CAR, and the operation was formally ended in October 2016.

French prosecutors opened an investigation, but the allegations did not become public until April 2015. Since then, other reports have emerged about troops’ alleged involvement in sexual attacks and the exploitation of children by offering them food and sometimes small amounts of money for sexual services.

So far, the Sangaris force is already the subject of three investigations into separate allegations of sexual abuse of children in the central African country.

In June, Paris prosecutors also opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that French troops beat up, or stood by while others beat up two people in the CAR.