ITHACA, N.Y. -- In 2004 actions by "a significant number" of United Nations (U.N.) forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo prompted the world body to confront a problem that had previously gone unnoticed: sexual exploitation and abuse by its staff and peace keeping troops.

On Friday, April 15, two U.N. staffers will discuss this problem and how the U.N. plans to address it. The event is titled "Toward the Elimination of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in U.N. Peacekeeping Operations." Their talks will take place at 11 a.m. in Anabel Taylor Hall Auditorium and are based on a report they helped prepare for the U.N.'s General Assembly at the request of Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The speakers are Anna Shotton, U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, focal point for sexual exploitation, and Anthony Miller, legal adviser and consultant to the U.N.

In 2004 the U.N. received 105 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, 45 percent involving victims under the age of 18. The report addresses that issue from the rules of conduct set by the U.N., the way the organization investigates allegations of wrongdoing, organizational and managerial accountability and individual accountability. The U.N. describes sexual exploitation as using a position of power or of trust to exploit vulnerable people for sexual purposes. It defines sexual abuse as "actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions."

One of the main complications for the U.N. is that peacekeeping operations can include up to five different levels of personnel, including some civilian jobs, each of which has its own rules and regulations. However, some of the recommendations that are made for dealing with offenders include immediate dismissal, stiff fines or jail time, depending on their position and the severity of the offense. The report also recommends that a system be put in place for aiding so-called "peacekeeping babies" -- children who are fathered and then abandoned by U.N. troops.

The event is sponsored by the Cornell Law School's Berger International Legal Studies Program and the Briggs Society of International Law, a student-run organization.

Courtney Potts is a writer intern with the Cornell News Service.