Amnesty chastises Liberia
14/12/2004 15:11  - (SA)  

Crowds boo Liberia's Bryant 19 000 Ivorians have fled I Coast refugees get food 10 000 have fled to Liberia UN appeals for help in Liberia Liberia: Monrovia gets curfew I Coast still hotbed of unrest Liberia orders assets frozen UN on Liberia: Sanctions stay

London - Liberia must bring to justice those responsible for systematic rapes during the country's long civil war, rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday, calling the lack of action a "disgraceful betrayal of the victims".

Rape and sexual violence affected a significant proportion of the West African nation's female population during 14 years of virtually uninterrupted civil war, the London-based group said in a report.

"Thousands of women and girls have suffered rape and other forms of sexual violence, yet, more than a year on from the signing of a peace agreement, no one has been prosecuted and it remains unclear if, how and when those responsible will ever face justice," it said.

"This impunity is a disgraceful betrayal of the victims of what are crimes against humanity and war crimes."

Harrowing testimony

The conflict, in which about 300 000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others forced into exile, ended with the departure of former warlord turned president Charles Taylor into exile in October last year.

Amnesty's report, called "Liberia: No impunity for rape - a crime against humanity and a war crime", is based on often harrowing testimony from victims, which shows the lingering psychological impact of the rapes.

Among the crimes listed are systematic assaults, including gang rape, by all sides in the conflict. Many displaced women remain vulnerable to sexual violence, the report adds.

"Lasting peace will not be achieved in Liberia unless those responsible for crimes under international law are held criminally responsible, truth is established and victims obtain full reparations," Amnesty said.

A plan to restore the proper rule of law must be "a priority" for the government of Liberia's Interim President Gyude Bryant, the group added.

Other rights groups have warned previously that apart from the mass rapes during the war, Liberian women and girls in camps for displaced people are also under severe threat of sexual attack. - AFP

 

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