Ban Ki-moon, de secretaris-generaal van de Verenigde Naties, wil dat er grotere inspanningen worden geleverd om ernstige schendingen van de rechten van het kind in Afghanistan te beëindigen.
Er moet een eind komen aan onder meer het inzetten van kindsoldaten, seksueel geweld tegen kinderen en het doden en verminken van kinderen. Ook mogen grove schendingen van internationale kinderrechten niet onbestraft blijven.
Het verslag van de VN over het rapport van Ban Ki-moon:
BAN CALLS FOR GREATER EFFORTS TO TACKLE CHILD RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Greater efforts are needed to end grave violations against children in Afghanistan, including their use as child soldiers, sexual violence, killing and maiming, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report to the Security Council.
In his report on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, covering the period from 1 September 2008 to 30 August 2010, Mr. Ban acknowledges that progress has been made since his last report, especially in terms of dialogue with the Government on the protection of children.
Last month the UN and the Afghan Government signed an agreement in which the country made a commitment to protect children affected by armed conflict and to prevent the recruitment of minors into the national armed forces.
“I urge the Government to ensure that adequate resources are allocated for effective implementation of the Action Plan, including introducing legislation aimed at criminalizing the recruitment of children in armed conflict and ensuring that no impunity is granted for grave violations against children under international law,” Mr. Ban writes.
But, according to information collected through the Country Task Force for Monitoring and Reporting, grave violations against children have increased during the reporting period, says the report.
“The recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict was observed throughout the country during the two-year reporting period,” it states. While many cases reported by the media and other sources could not be confirmed owing to access and security considerations, the Country Task Force verified 26 out of 47 reported incidents that provide evidence that children were recruited by armed groups as well as by Afghan National Security Forces, including the Afghan National Police.
In addition, cases of children who carried out suicide attacks or who were used to plant explosives, at times unknowingly, were reported. These incidents often led to the deaths of the children involved, notes the report.
Children continued to be detained in international military forces detention facilities in contravention of international law, according to the report, which adds that there is concern that such detainees are not treated in line with international standards for juvenile justice.
During the reporting period, 1,795 children were injured or killed because of conflict-related violence although the figures are assumed to be underreported as access to conflict-affected areas remained difficult. Children continued to be casualties of suicide attacks, improvised explosive devices and rocket attacks by armed groups, including the Taliban.
They have also been victims of air strikes and night searches by pro-government forces. In addition, 568 children were injured or killed as a result of landmines and other explosive remnants of war during the reporting period.
Sexual violence, including that against children, is “pervasive” and continues to be vastly underreported and concealed in Afghan society, the Secretary-General points out.
“The general climate of impunity, a vacuum in the rule of law, lack of faith in investigating and prosecuting authorities, and misplaced shame have adversely affected the reporting of sexual violence and abuse against children to law enforcement authorities and subsequent prosecution of perpetrators,” he writes.
“Child sexual abuse, against both girls and boys, is not clearly defined as a crime in Afghan law, and perpetrators of such violations are rarely held accountable.”
Mr. Ban strongly encourages the Government to work closely with the Country Task Force to strengthen reporting under Security Council resolution 1882 (2009) on sexual violence against children and killing and maiming of children, and to ensure an appropriate and swift programme and accountability response for victims of such violations.
(New York, Feb 14, 2011)
Zie ook:
Meer inspanningen nodig voor rechten van het kind in Afghanistan
Politie Afghanistan misbruikt en rekruteert kinderen
zaterdag 26 februari 2011
dinsdag 8 februari 2011
Seksueel misbruik en rekruteren kinderen door politie Afghanistan
In een plan van aanpak dat is ondertekend met Afghaanse functionarissen in Kabul zegt de overheid toe om kinderen te beschermen die getroffen worden door het gewapende conflict.
Het gaat om een plan om het rekruteren van minderjarigen in de nationale veiligheidsdiensten te voorkomen, hen te beschermen tegen seksueel misbruik en hen te re-integreren in de burgermaatschappij. Dat melden de Verenigde Naties.
Het verslag van de VN:
NEW UN-AFGHAN PACT WILL HELP CURB RECRUITMENT, SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN – UN OFFICIAL
A new agreement between Afghanistan and the United Nations holds out the hope of ending the recruitment of children by armed forces and curbing the sexual abuse of young boys by powerful commanders, particularly in the national police, a top UN official said today.
“We look forward to try to play an important role in it, both in verification and monitoring and assisting the Government in its reintegration process,” the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York. “I think we can do a pretty good job of monitoring the situation.”
Under an action plan which Ms. Coomaraswamy signed with Afghan officials in Kabul, the capital, on Sunday, the government committed to protect children affected by armed conflict, prevent the recruitment of minors into the national armed forces, reintegrate them into civil society, and end the practice of Bacha-bazi, or so-called dancing boys.
“Very powerful warlords and regional commanders from all the security forces as well as anti-government forces have young boys who are taught to dance,” she explained. “They dance in front of them – in some kind of party situation – and then they are sexually exploited, sexual abuse of boys. We’re concerned because it’s sort of considered a sense of power and strength how many you have and parade.”
The Afghan government, the Ulema (Moslem scholars) and the fundamentalist Taliban now fighting the government are all officially against the practice, as is civil society. “So everybody’s against this practice but it continues with impunity,” Ms. Coomaraswamy said. “It seems to be widespread and it has to be fought and we need some prosecutions if we’re going to turn things around.”
She cited photographic and other evidence that the Afghan police in particular were recruiting minors and using boys in Bacha-bazi, noting that boys aged from 12 to 16 were being used to search vehicles or man checkpoints.
She said the UN country team will monitor the situation, adding that she did not have numbers for those recruited by the government or anti-government forces.
Last April, the Afghan National Police was cited in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report on Children and Armed Conflict for its recruitment of children. The government responded by establishing an inter-ministerial steering committee which developed the action plan with the UN-led country task force on children and armed conflict.
The plan sets out various issues that the government will address, such as the strengthening of birth registration and age-verification mechanisms, investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of under-age recruitment and sexual violence.
Feb 3 2011 5:10PM
Zie ook:
http://afghanistan-veiligheid-kinderen.blogspot.com/2011/02/politie-afghanistan-rekruteert-en.html
De VN-persconferentie:
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2011/110203_Coomaraswamy.doc.htm
Het gaat om een plan om het rekruteren van minderjarigen in de nationale veiligheidsdiensten te voorkomen, hen te beschermen tegen seksueel misbruik en hen te re-integreren in de burgermaatschappij. Dat melden de Verenigde Naties.
Het verslag van de VN:
NEW UN-AFGHAN PACT WILL HELP CURB RECRUITMENT, SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN – UN OFFICIAL
A new agreement between Afghanistan and the United Nations holds out the hope of ending the recruitment of children by armed forces and curbing the sexual abuse of young boys by powerful commanders, particularly in the national police, a top UN official said today.
“We look forward to try to play an important role in it, both in verification and monitoring and assisting the Government in its reintegration process,” the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York. “I think we can do a pretty good job of monitoring the situation.”
Under an action plan which Ms. Coomaraswamy signed with Afghan officials in Kabul, the capital, on Sunday, the government committed to protect children affected by armed conflict, prevent the recruitment of minors into the national armed forces, reintegrate them into civil society, and end the practice of Bacha-bazi, or so-called dancing boys.
“Very powerful warlords and regional commanders from all the security forces as well as anti-government forces have young boys who are taught to dance,” she explained. “They dance in front of them – in some kind of party situation – and then they are sexually exploited, sexual abuse of boys. We’re concerned because it’s sort of considered a sense of power and strength how many you have and parade.”
The Afghan government, the Ulema (Moslem scholars) and the fundamentalist Taliban now fighting the government are all officially against the practice, as is civil society. “So everybody’s against this practice but it continues with impunity,” Ms. Coomaraswamy said. “It seems to be widespread and it has to be fought and we need some prosecutions if we’re going to turn things around.”
She cited photographic and other evidence that the Afghan police in particular were recruiting minors and using boys in Bacha-bazi, noting that boys aged from 12 to 16 were being used to search vehicles or man checkpoints.
She said the UN country team will monitor the situation, adding that she did not have numbers for those recruited by the government or anti-government forces.
Last April, the Afghan National Police was cited in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report on Children and Armed Conflict for its recruitment of children. The government responded by establishing an inter-ministerial steering committee which developed the action plan with the UN-led country task force on children and armed conflict.
The plan sets out various issues that the government will address, such as the strengthening of birth registration and age-verification mechanisms, investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of under-age recruitment and sexual violence.
Feb 3 2011 5:10PM
Zie ook:
http://afghanistan-veiligheid-kinderen.blogspot.com/2011/02/politie-afghanistan-rekruteert-en.html
De VN-persconferentie:
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2011/110203_Coomaraswamy.doc.htm
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