Over 1000 women, child rights violation cases in Ivory Coast: Report

Paris, Nov 28(ANI): Human rights of over 1000 women and children have been severely violated in the Ivory Coast, with one child being raped every 36 hours, a report has warned.

A Unicef and Save the Children Report found that 182 children have been raped since the country faced political turmoil, after a constitutional court overturned the 2010 election result and ruled that former president Laurent Gbagbo should continue in office.

The report highlighted 1,121 human rights violations against women and children between November 2010 and September 2011.

Out of the human violation cases, 643 were children, two-thirds of child victims were girls and 60 percent of them were aged less than 15 years.

The report found that there were 213 cases of sexual violence and 79 incidents of children being maimed or injured.

The Daily Express quoted the report as pointing out that 41 children were killed, and 10 were kidnapped.

According to the report, only 52 cases of human rights violations were prosecuted, even though over half of the victims knew the perpetrator.

"The suffering of children in the Cote d'Ivoire crisis has been overlooked until now. Many are scared to denounce the perpetrators of these crimes, and those who step forward should be supported. We will continue to assist the victims and monitor the institutions that are responsible for safeguarding the rights of Ivorian children," Ivory Coast's Save the Children Director Xavier Simon said. (ANI)

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