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Liberia: Illegal Detention, Rape Top Child Right Abuses
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The NEWS (Monrovia)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Monrovia
The national Child Rights Observatory Group (NACROG) has noted that during the period January - December 2007, Illegal detention and rape dominated abuses among children in Liberia.
NACROG's Acting Officer-In-Charge, Senyon Kieh told a news conference Friday that during the reporting period (January-December 2007), with planned activities in Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Bong and Nimba counties and response interventions, it was established that children are still faced with violence in many forms.
Giving NACROG's situational report for the period under review, Kieh noted that analysis of the data collected show that some 438 cases of child rights violations were documented.
"The violations documented include Rape, abandonment, neglect, illegal detention, Illegal adoption, torture, Physical abuse (beating) child trafficking, sodomy, forced and early marriage, murder, economic exploitation, ritualistic killing, violence related injury and abduction," Mr. Kieh noted.
He observed that 116 rape cases were documented and handled, representing 26.5% of the total violations, while 33 cases of neglect which accounts for 7.5% of the violations were documented.
The Child Rights Advocate pointed out that the ages of the victims ranged from two months to 17 years old, and added that an analysis of the action taken on the documented rape cases shows that 83 were without action, five referred, 22 resolved and 11 ongoing.
Kieh: "Illegal detention makes up 191 cases accounting for 43.6% of violations documented. Four of these cases were referred; 13 ongoing, while 174 were resolved".
Mr. Kieh further noted that torture accounts for 21 cases or 4.8% of violations documented, while ritualistic killing accounts for 0.5%, and added "action on the two ritualistic killings is still ongoing, while all of the 21 torture cases were resolved by the police."
He said abandonment constitutes 6.6% or 29 cases of the violations, while neglect accounts for 7.5% or 33 cases, adding "eight of the abandonment cases along with 22 of the neglect cases were resolved; two neglect cases were referred and 11 neglect cases and 5 abandonment cases are ongoing respectively."
Mr. Kieh said the plight of hundreds of children who are less privileged is of serious concern to his group and strongly holds the belief that much needs to be done to help such children.
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NACROG comprises 24 member organizations and the ICRC serves as an Observer. It is headed by the National Chairperson who represents the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia and assisted by the National Co-chairperson who represents Mother Pattern College of Health Sciences.
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