The head of United Nations peacekeeping operations says the incidence of sexual abuse in areas supervised by his organization is … uh … “too high.”

There are still too many complaints of sexual abuse against United Nations troops, the head of peacekeeping operations has said.

Jean-Marie Guehenno said the UN had investigated 295 cases under a new reporting system introduced last year.

It could take several more years to reform the system fully, says Jordan’s UN envoy who last year urged changes.

The 18 peace missions worldwide employ 85,000 staff from over 100 countries, with a budget of nearly $5bn.

Mr Guehenno said although significant progress had been made in reducing the number of cases of sexual exploitation following an investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo two years ago, much more needed to be done.

“Allegations being lodged against UN peacekeeping personnel remain high and unacceptably so,” he said. He noted “how hard it is to change a culture of dismissiveness, long developed within ourselves, in our countries and in the mission areas.”