Why Egypt abstained from voting on UN sex crime resolution
Egypt believes a country could suffer far-reaching consequences under the UN resolution.
Egypt’s UN ambassador Amr Abu Atta created quite a stir by abstaining during an otherwise unanimous vote to punish and repatriate UN peacekeeping battalions that include personnel suspected of sexual abuse in their assigned countries.
There’s a lot of speculation over why Abu Atta declined to vote March 11 on the US-drafted resolution before the UN Security Council. Some imply he simply chose to swim against the tide to become famous. But there are many alternative reasons.
The draft resolution that was put forth by Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, stipulates that if members of a peacekeeping nation’s forces are accused of sexual abuses and their country fails to investigate the allegations, hold perpetrators accountable or inform the secretary-general of its actions, its entire force should be repatriated.
In an interview with UN Radio, Abu Atta said, “We abstained from voting on the draft resolution as we believe that the Security Council has nothing to do with this issue, which falls under the purview of the General Assembly. Sexual abuses are not related to the international peace and security.
