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Growing Number of Afghan Children "In Crisis": AIHRC Report

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in a report on Tuesday raised grave concerns over the impact of the war on the children in Afghanistan, saying that despite the slight decrease of children casualties in the fighting, the number of children in crisis has risen by 25 percent this year.

The rights group said that the number of children deprived of education has increased by 16 percent due to war.

Abed, 12, is an Afghan child who works as a street vendor in Kabul due to the economic hardships of his family.

Abed did not manage to go to school because of economic problems.

“I would love to go to school, to get an education and to support my family,” said Abed.

“I want to be an officer and serve my country,” Abed added.

Recently, the commission interviewed 5,318 children across Afghanistan and found a number of concerning trends.

Of the children in the survey saying they were recruited by armed groups, 76.2 percent were with illegal armed groups and nearly 16 percent claimed to be recruited by the government, said Razia Sayyad, a commissioner of the AIHRC. The total number of recruited children was over 100, according to report. 

The Interior Ministry meanwhile said that there are no children in the ranks of the security forces.

“There are no underage personnel because we have introduced new standards when it comes to the hiring and recruitment policy in the ranks of the police force, we are also monitoring the behavior of the police,” said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

The report noted a decrease in the level of casualties among children, but it found that the number of children "in crisis" has increased.

The number of children deprived of education because of poverty, security threats and family bans increased in this year's report.

“The commission assessed 72 cases of (rights violation), of this figure, violations were determined to have occurred in 41.6 percent of the cases,” said Najibullah Zadran, a coordinator at the human rights commission.

The AIHRC says that children in Afghanistan are also facing issues of sexual harassment, physical violence, psychological violence and economic hardship.

Growing Number of Afghan Children "In Crisis": AIHRC Report

The report noted a decrease in the level of casualties among children, but it found that the number of children "in crisis" has increased.

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The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in a report on Tuesday raised grave concerns over the impact of the war on the children in Afghanistan, saying that despite the slight decrease of children casualties in the fighting, the number of children in crisis has risen by 25 percent this year.

The rights group said that the number of children deprived of education has increased by 16 percent due to war.

Abed, 12, is an Afghan child who works as a street vendor in Kabul due to the economic hardships of his family.

Abed did not manage to go to school because of economic problems.

“I would love to go to school, to get an education and to support my family,” said Abed.

“I want to be an officer and serve my country,” Abed added.

Recently, the commission interviewed 5,318 children across Afghanistan and found a number of concerning trends.

Of the children in the survey saying they were recruited by armed groups, 76.2 percent were with illegal armed groups and nearly 16 percent claimed to be recruited by the government, said Razia Sayyad, a commissioner of the AIHRC. The total number of recruited children was over 100, according to report. 

The Interior Ministry meanwhile said that there are no children in the ranks of the security forces.

“There are no underage personnel because we have introduced new standards when it comes to the hiring and recruitment policy in the ranks of the police force, we are also monitoring the behavior of the police,” said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

The report noted a decrease in the level of casualties among children, but it found that the number of children "in crisis" has increased.

The number of children deprived of education because of poverty, security threats and family bans increased in this year's report.

“The commission assessed 72 cases of (rights violation), of this figure, violations were determined to have occurred in 41.6 percent of the cases,” said Najibullah Zadran, a coordinator at the human rights commission.

The AIHRC says that children in Afghanistan are also facing issues of sexual harassment, physical violence, psychological violence and economic hardship.

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