People convicted of pedophilia in Madagascar will be subjected to surgical castration for their crimes after the passing of a new law on February 2.

The news comes only days after Kazakhstan passed a similar law in response to local politicians who complained that chemical castration, a punishment for child rapists, did not stop people from committing such crimes.

PHOTO | COURTESY Medical castration

Initially, child rapists in Madagascar were sentenced to five to twenty years of hard labor. Still, under the new rule, offenders found guilty of defiling youngsters under the age of ten would be surgically castrated and sentenced to life in prison.

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For victims aged ten to thirteen, chemical castration will be administered, followed by 15 to 20 years of forced labor. If the perpetrator is a minor, they will be excused from castration.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, has denounced the move.

PHOTO | COURTESY Madagascar Approves New Law To Castrate pedophiles

"In Madagascar, rape cases remain under-reported, and perpetrators often go free due to the victims' and their families' fear of retaliation, stigmatisation, and a lack of trust in the judicial system," according to a report by the BBC.

"Implementing chemical and surgical castration, which constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as a punishment for those found guilty of raping minors will not solve this and is inconsistent with Malagasy constitutional provisions against torture and other ill-treatment, as well as regional and international human rights standards."