U.N. Peacekeepers and AIDS
NEW YORK -- With all the controversies over the role and effectiveness of UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS, one issue that has received scant attention, and that U.N. officials are loath to discuss, is the presence of AIDS among the peacekeeping forces. The militaries of countries in sub-Saharan Africa are known to have HIV infection rates as high as 80%, and many of these countries, which may receive a few hundred dollars a month for each soldier, send troops on peacekeeping missions. A U.N. official explains that "we do not discriminate between black, white or AIDS-infected people." But he...