The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMSS) has said that a teenage girl was touched inappropriately by a member of the Nepalese contingent in exchange for money and the matter is being probed as a case of sexual assault.
The Nepal Army unit in South Sudan also formed a board of inquiry to look into the allegations against its peacekeepers deployed in the African country.
On April 13, four teenagers were caught trying to enter the United Nations base in Aweil through the perimeter fence. It was alleged that one of the teenage girls had been "touched inappropriately" by a member of the Nepali contingent in exchange for money, the UNMISS said in a statement.
"There was no allegation made of rape," the statement said.
The UNMISS deployed a Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Immediate Response Team (IRT) to Aweil to gather information and preserve evidence prior to the launch of an investigation by Nepal.
In Kathmandu, Nepali Army spokesperson Brig Gen Gokul Bhandari in a statement today said, "a board of inquiry comprising our officials in South Sudan has been investigating into the case of alleged sexual exploitation and abuse that took place on April 13."
However, it was not clear from the statement that how many army personnel were involved in the incident.
"Nepal Army's attention has been drawn to the reported sexual abuse. We are observing zero tolerance in such cases. Legal action will be taken as per the military act if anyone is found guilty after receiving the report of the investigation," said the Nepal Army in the statement.
Nepal has been contributing to the UN peacekeeping mission since 1958. Currently, 4,832 troops are on duty in 12 different war-affected countries.
Preliminary investigation suggested that there was no incident of rape involved in the incident, said the army spokesperson.
"However, we are investigating into the matter to find out the truth," he added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here yesterday that the allegations were initially reported on the UN website for Conduct in UN Field Missions as "including an allegation of rape" and this had been the interpretation made based on the information available at the time of posting.
However, now the matter is being investigated as sexual assault.
"The nature of the sexual activity has now been clarified and, therefore, the matter is being recategorised as sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, pending further information that may arise through the investigation," Dujarric said.
The UN spokesman had earlier said that any act of sexual abuse is "horrendous", in particular "one involving a child is especially heinous".
The UN has been informed that the Nepalese Government has appointed a national investigative team within the required timeframe of 90 days, as requested by the UN Secretariat.
"Any information on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse are reported as quickly as possible as part of the Secretary General's transparency initiatives," Dujarric said, adding that the investigation is ongoing and updates in the case could be available in the future.
As of March 2018, Nepal had 1710 troops and 344 police personnel deployed with the UNMISS.
The matter has also been reported to the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), an agency that is independent from UNMISS.
UNMISS said it has a zero tolerance, no excuses and no second chances approach to sexual exploitation and abuse. "It is committed to putting the victims' rights and dignity first and ensuring that there is transparency and accountability for such actions," the UN mission said.
The allegation comes two months after 46 Ghanaian peacekeepers were recalled after some members allegedly paid local women living in a protection camp in the town of Wau for sex.
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