GENEVA
The Vatican has failed to provide information requested by the United Nations about the number of children who were sexually abused by priests, the UN Committee against Torture has said.
The committee's comments came on Friday after a preliminary report from the Holy See to the UN Offices in Geneva said there were 3,420 credible allegations of sexual abuse by priests between 2004 and 2013.
A total of 848 priests had been defrocked and 2,572 disciplined, according to the report.
The committee's vice-chairperson Felice Gaer said: "How many victims are there? We do not know the numbers. We know it is very large. We are concerned about it."
There were also cases where victims of abuse had not received compensation, he added.
Vatican 'not consistent'
Gaer said that sexual abuse and rape were considered to fall into the category of torture under the UN's Convention against Torture, and said the Vatican had not fulfilled the requirements of some of its articles.
"The Vatican's obligations under the convention concern all public officials of the state and other persons acting in an official capacity or under the rule of law," Gaer said.
The committee said it was also concerned that accused clergy had been transferred to other institutions where they remained in contact with minors and others who were vulnerable.
It also noted the Vatican's declaration was not consistent with norms under its own law as well as the UN's Convention against Torture.
"The Vatican should take effective steps to ensure the provision of information to civil authorities in cases where they are carrying out criminal investigations of the violations," the committee said.
It also said the Vatican should consider ratifying core international human rights conventions.
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