Tsunami-hit face rights abuse: Report

In countries like Lanka, India and Maldives, some of the most vulnerable groups are women and children.

More than a year after the tsunami in Asia, many of the most vulnerable survivors are plagued by discrimination in aid distribution, forced relocation and violence against women, a report said.

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The report, released on Wednesday by three international non-profit groups, documented conditions in five countries devastated by the December 26, 2004 tsunami.

Within the countries -- Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives -- some of the most vulnerable groups are women, children and ethnic minorities, the report said.

Those in poor neighbourhoods consistently bear the largest burden, it said.

"Nature treated (the citizens of these countries) equally, but their governments are not treating them equally," said Ramesh Singh, chief executive of ActionAid International, one of the groups that compiled the report.

About 215,000 people died in the tsunami and millions of others in the region lost their homes, health care and livelihood.

Field research involving more than 50,000 survivors found widespread instances of land grabbing to serve commercial interests, shoddy construction in government-sponsored housing projects, uneven distribution of aid packages among devastated industries, and a host of other violations, the report said.

Women also continue to suffer because of their gender, the report said.

The other two sponsors of the report are: People's Movement for Human Rights Learning and Habitat International Coalition.