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Not only in Liberia
Ritual Killing in Benin  (2 case reported here)

Freedom of fear is a human right
Rule of law an obligation of the state

 


 
  1. Sorcery-linked infanticides persist in north
    In northern Benin a baby born with a tooth, in silence or feet first is likely to be killed out of fear that the infant is cursed, according to local NGOs. Despite efforts to stamp out sorcery-linked infanticides, the practice persists.

    Mohamed Alidou with the Association for the Protection of Unfortunate Children (APEM) told IRIN that customs and ignorance about childbirth lead people to label some babies as cursed “abnormalities” who must be destroyed immediately - by throat-slitting, poisoning or drowning, or slowly through abandonment and starvation. “Whatever the method, the goal is always the same: the physical elimination of the child,” said Alidou.
    (...)
    Akpovi said family members secretly decide whether a newborn should be sentenced to death.
    (...)
    Some 60 percent of children who are judged “abnormal” are killed, according to the Ministry of Family’s director Nicolas Biaou, who oversees the northern regions of Borgou and Alibori - two heavily affected areas.
    February 26,2009
     
  2. Fears of witchcraft leads to widespread infanticide in remote north
    Unless a baby is born head first and face upwards, many communities in northern Benin believe the child is a witch or sorcerer. And tradition demands that the infant must be killed.
    July 18, 2005
     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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