Amnesty says war zone abuses going unpunished

Women and girls are being raped, violently abused and humiliated in war zones around the world, but national authorities do little or nothing to punish offenders, Amnesty International reported yesterday.

Amnesty's report, Lives Blown Apart, said sexual and violent abuse was widespread. Despite promises, treaties and legal mechanisms, Governments had failed to protect women and girls in conflicts in Colombia, Iraq, Sudan, Chechnya, Nepal and Afghanistan.

The report said international laws recognised rape and sexual violence as war crimes, but offenders were not being prosecuted.