UN Expresses Concerns over Children Rights Violations in Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The United Nations expressed concerns over violation of children rights including their recruitment by the armed groups in the conflict-ridden Afghanistan.
The UN Secretary-General's Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict said that the world body had documented the recruitment and use of 97 boys, some as young as 8 years with majority of them were reportedly recruited by armed opposition groups including Taliban and Haqqani network to fight and even conduct suicide attacks.
"In one incident, in May 2013, a 15-year-old boy conducted a suicide attack against an Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander in Muqur District, Gazhni Province, killing three ALP officers, two civilians, and injuring 16 others," the report said.
Children, the UN report said have also been recruited to manufacture and plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as combatants, and for other roles, including as sex slaves.
According to the report, in one particular case in Laghman Province, state authorities arrested 21 children, as young as seven years, allegedly on their way to Pakistan for suicide attack training by the Taliban.
However, Taliban outfit which is largely relying on suicide and roadside bombings have rejected these allegations, Xinhua reported.
According to the UN report, the government security forces are also involved in recruiting children, "the recruitment and use of 25 children was attributed to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including 14 by the ALP, five by the National Police (ANP), and one by the Afghan National Army (ANA)."
Giving example, the report said that a 12-year-old boy was killed when ANP elements forced him to check a suspicious looking object. One boy associated with the ANA in Kunar Province was used as a porter and injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Most of the children are believed to be in detention without charges and without opportunity for a court to assess the lawfulness of their detention, the UN report asserted.
At least 545 children were killed and 1,149 injured in 790 documented incidents. Armed opposition groups, including the Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami, were responsible for a majority (889) of the recorded child casualties, according to the report.
