UNITED NATIONS, June 15-- UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare, welcomed on Monday the evaluation report on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel in peacekeeping operations, said a UN spokesman at a daily briefing here.

"He said that this report provides an additional insight on how the implementation of the secretary-general's zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse is handled, where progress has been made and where challenges still exist," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general.

The report was published by the Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

According to media reports, the French soldiers sexually abused starving young boys at a center for internally displaced people in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic between December2013 and June 2014.

Khare added that the Department of Field Support is committed to the zero-tolerance policy and implementing the recommendations made in the Secretary-General's annual report, according to Dujarric.

"He (Khare) said, 'Any allegation of sexual violence is shocking. Sexual exploitation and abuse when allegedly committed by those who should be protectors is truly abhorrent," said Dujarric.

"He noted that, while challenges remain, we should not lose sight of the achievements made so far as a result of the numerous efforts undertaken by the Organization and Member States during a period where we have seen increased deployments and enhanced efforts at reporting on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse," said Dujarric.

The allegations drew great attention worldwide, which is, in part, due to, besides the fact that its possible victims were young children, the suspension of a UN aid worker over leaking a confidential report and the doubt as to whether the UN properly handled the allegations when they first emerged.

Following the allegations, the UN, through its Office of Human Rights in Bangui, conducted a human rights investigation in late spring of 2014, according to the UN.

This year in April, a UN spokesperson told the press that a UN aid worker has been found leaking the unedited investigation report to French authorities in July 2014.

However, the Guardian, which brought the issue to world attention, cited sources close to the case, saying that "Anders Kompass (the UN aid worker) passed the document to the French authorities because of the UN's failure to take action to stop the abuse."

According to The Guardian, the report was passed to officials within the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva in summer in 2014. When nothing happened, Anders Kompass sent the report to the French authorities and they visited Bangui and began an investigation.