Madagascar passed a law this week requiring surgical or chemical castration for people convicted of statutory rape, in a measure deemed “cruel and inhuman” by Amnesty International.
The text was approved in early February in the National Assembly, then in the Senate on Wednesday, and must still be ratified by the Supreme Constitutional Court before it can be issued by President Andry Rajoelina.
Under the amendment seen by Agence France-Presse, the penalty of surgical castration will be imposed on “perpetrators of rape crimes against a child under the age of ten.”
But the text also notes the “chemical or surgical” castration of rapists of children between the ages of 10 and 13, and the chemical castration of rapists of minors between the ages of 13 and 18.
Amnesty International called for this provision to be “repealed,” stressing that chemical or surgical castration “constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” and “will not solve” the issue of child rape.
This measure also, according to the NGO, “does not comply with Malagasy constitutional provisions against torture and ill-treatment, as well as with regional and international standards related to human rights.”
On Friday, Malagasy Minister of Justice Landi Mbulatiana Randriamanantinaso told Agence France-Presse that Madagascar, a large island in the Indian Ocean, is a “sovereign country that has every right to amend its laws” to achieve the public good.
She added: “In the face of the increasing cases of rape, we had to take action” in order to “reduce the phenomenon,” explaining that 600 cases of rape of minors were recorded last year.
The minister continued, saying, “Previously, the maximum penalty was five years” in prison, and “we have introduced an additional penalty, which is castration.”
#Bilad #newspaper #Madagascar #harsh #punishment #child #rapists #awaiting #constitutional #ratification