New York - The United Nations chief condemned "appalling allegations" of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in the Central African Republic while meeting with worried countries that included two of the world body's top funders.
The ambassador for the United States, by far the UN's top contributing country, welcomed a new external review into how the allegations were handled.
Confidential documents have shown that the UN's top human rights officials did not follow up for more than half a year on allegations collected by their own staffers, while French authorities pressed for more information.
France opened a formal judicial inquiry just last month.
External review
Ban Ki-moon met Australia, Japan, Norway and Guatemala, who did not comment shortly afterward. Japan is the UN's second-largest funder, contributing 10%of the world body's regular budget. Australia also falls in the top dozen contributors.
Few details have been announced about the external review, which will address both the specific allegations and wider issues related to how the UN responds to such sensitive claims.
Ban's spokesperson has said a summary of the findings will be made public.