PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, (CMC):

More than 60 children have been kidnapped in Haiti since the start of the year, according to a United Nations report.

The UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti said that children in the impoverished Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country were still threatened by kidnappings, rape and other human-rights violations, despite an improvement in security.

It said that since the start of this year, 66 children had been kidnapped as compared to 80 for all of last year.

The report said that two children were killed, including a boy, 16, whose tortured body was found after a ransom was paid to his kidnappers.

Exploited

The study said that many abducted girls were also sexually abused and that sexual violence against children remains "a high concern".

It also reported an "alarming increase" in the trafficking of children to the Dominican Republic for labour and sexual exploitation. Nearly 750 children were returned by Dominican authorities in the first five months of the year.

While the UN document noted that the judiciary had made progress in its treatment of those children who break the law, it said that the number of them held for long periods before trial remains high and that many minors were forced to share cells with adult prisoners.