A Human Rights Watch report accuses Ugandan and Burundian soldiers on African Union duty in Mogadishu, Somalia, of sexual offences.

The report released this week says some African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) soldiers used their positions of power to sexually exploit vulnerable Somali women.
Responding to the report, the Commission of the African Union described it as imbalanced and not representative of the general picture on the ground. It says Human Rights Watch used a small number of cases to arrive at a generalized, but false, conclusion.

The Ugandan army, UPDF, has over the years cultivated a reputation as a competent and disciplined force, notwithstanding isolated excesses at home and abroad. That partly explains why it remains one of Africa’s most successful and respected military outfits.

And that is why the allegations contained in the Human Rights Watch report are disturbing. Notwithstanding the shortcomings of the report, as pointed out in the African Union statement and by UPDF spokesmen, it is not inconceivable that individual soldiers could have perpetrated such crimes.

Despite having discipline as their common and ultimate code of conduct, soldiers emanate from society and, so, societal evils are prevalent in all armies. Even the celebrated United States army had its fair share of embarrassing rotten tomatoes while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, what sets a disciplined and respected army apart from a rogue militia is how its commanders and government react to cases of indiscipline committed by individual soldiers, especially against civilians.

Respected armies have a zero tolerance policy towards such misbehaviour and will thoroughly investigate and harshly punish errant soldiers in their ranks. Rogue armies, on the other hand, will cover up for their colleagues and, thus, perpetuate the culture of preying on populations they are meant to protect. The former are often the victorious while the latter are often the vanquished.

To put these allegations to rest, the leadership of UPDF must investigate them and appropriately punish the offenders, if they exist in their ranks. Ugandans expect UPDF soldiers to live by their own high standards in terms of discipline.

Suorce: The Observer (Uganda)