Irish soldiers who visited prostitutes while on UN peacekeeping duties in Eritrea have been disciplined and fined following a lengthy investigation by the Defence Forces' military police.
Six soldiers who served in the east African state were charged with misconduct after it was alleged they broke UN regulations governing sexual fraternisation with locals. However, more serious charges that they had sex with minors were not proven.
A Defence Forces spokesman said the men had never had full sexual intercourse with the women. Instead, the women offered lapdances and other sexual services, including oral sex.
The men were charged with contravening a UN force commander's directive on sexual fraternisation with locals. They were also accused of contravening the UN's standard operating procedure 409, which also bans sexual fraternisation with locals while on UN missions.
Four of the soldiers pleaded guilty at arraignments before their commanding officers earlier in the year. One other soldier was found not guilty. The sixth man contested the charges and his case has not yet been concluded. The four who pleaded guilty were fined different amounts, including two days' pay, €100 and €110.
Their arraignments have also been added to their military records, making promotion and further overseas tours of duty unlikely. One of the men who pleaded guilty has left the Defence Forces. Most of them are based in the south of the country.
Defence Forces spokesman Cmdt Brian Cleary said the matter had been taken very seriously. "A contingent of military police visited Eritrea and around 90 witnesses were interviewed there and in Ireland. A 79-page report into the matter was finalised in January of this year and the arraignments took place in the first quarter of the year."
He said that although the most serious allegations - sex with minors - had not been proven, the men's behaviour ran contrary to respect for local customs and religious beliefs in Eritrea, on which the soldiers had been fully briefed before leaving Ireland.
The sexual misconduct took place in 2002 in a Portacabin just outside the Irish Army's base in the capital, Asmara. At the time, nearly 200 Irish soldiers were based in Asmara as part of the mission overseeing the border demarcation with Ethiopia.
