Keltria
12-20-2004, 12:05 PM
Liberian war rapists must be brought to justice
Dakar
19 December 2004 08:08
More than a year after the curtain fell on Liberia's 14-year conflict, no one has been prosecuted for the many wartime cases of rape and sexual abuse, said Amnesty International, calling on the government and the international community to swiftly bring the criminals to justice and provide more help for the victims.
"Despite the prevalence of sexual violence during the conflict, not only has no-one been prosecuted but it also remains unclear if, how and when those responsible will ever face justice," the human rights group said in a recently-published report.
Amnesty quoted preliminary figures from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which indicated that about two out of three Liberians had suffered some form of sexual violence during the conflict.
The attacks included rape, gang-rape, the insertion of foreign objects and being stripped and put on public display, and although women and girls had borne the brunt of the combatants' attacks, men and boys were also victims.
In its report, Amnesty found victims of sexual violence across the West African nation. It said sexual crimes had been carried out by combatants from all three armed factions -- fighters loyal to former president Charles Taylor, members of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, and combatants belonging to the Movement for Democracy in Liberia.
"I was pregnant and running away," one 29-year-old woman told Amnesty representatives. "Three government soldiers caught me and raped me. They beat me and my unborn baby died."
It said that one example for Liberia to follow might be found in neighbouring Sierra Leone, which suffered its own brutal decade-long war, and has since set up a UN-backed Special Court to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity, including rape and sexual slavery.
"Two men raped me. I am bleeding all the time. I haven't been to hospital. There is no medical care," a 35-year-old woman from the western county, Bomi, told Amnesty representatives.
Earlier this year the UN and Liberia's interim government estimated that less than 10% of the three million people living in this heavily-forested nation had access to any kind of healthcare. And Amnesty said not much had changed.
"The provision of health facilities including hospitals ... is among the worst in the world," The report said, again urging donors to deliver funds they had promised in February so that the country could get back on its feet. -- Irin
Dakar
19 December 2004 08:08
More than a year after the curtain fell on Liberia's 14-year conflict, no one has been prosecuted for the many wartime cases of rape and sexual abuse, said Amnesty International, calling on the government and the international community to swiftly bring the criminals to justice and provide more help for the victims.
"Despite the prevalence of sexual violence during the conflict, not only has no-one been prosecuted but it also remains unclear if, how and when those responsible will ever face justice," the human rights group said in a recently-published report.
Amnesty quoted preliminary figures from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which indicated that about two out of three Liberians had suffered some form of sexual violence during the conflict.
The attacks included rape, gang-rape, the insertion of foreign objects and being stripped and put on public display, and although women and girls had borne the brunt of the combatants' attacks, men and boys were also victims.
In its report, Amnesty found victims of sexual violence across the West African nation. It said sexual crimes had been carried out by combatants from all three armed factions -- fighters loyal to former president Charles Taylor, members of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, and combatants belonging to the Movement for Democracy in Liberia.
"I was pregnant and running away," one 29-year-old woman told Amnesty representatives. "Three government soldiers caught me and raped me. They beat me and my unborn baby died."
It said that one example for Liberia to follow might be found in neighbouring Sierra Leone, which suffered its own brutal decade-long war, and has since set up a UN-backed Special Court to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity, including rape and sexual slavery.
"Two men raped me. I am bleeding all the time. I haven't been to hospital. There is no medical care," a 35-year-old woman from the western county, Bomi, told Amnesty representatives.
Earlier this year the UN and Liberia's interim government estimated that less than 10% of the three million people living in this heavily-forested nation had access to any kind of healthcare. And Amnesty said not much had changed.
"The provision of health facilities including hospitals ... is among the worst in the world," The report said, again urging donors to deliver funds they had promised in February so that the country could get back on its feet. -- Irin