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poekieJ · 31 januari 2011, 18:34

Ik was op icasualties aan het kijken, en daar kwam ik verdorie een degoutant artikel tegen.

Afghans to stop police recruitment of children
Sunday, January 30, 2011
By Rod Nordland, The New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan is expected to sign a formal agreement with the United Nations today to stop recruiting children into its police forces and ban the common practice of boys being used as sex slaves by military commanders, according to Afghan and U.N. officials.

The effort by Afghanistan's international backers to rapidly expand the country's police and military forces has had the unintended consequence of drawing many under-age boys into service, the officials conceded.

Stung by Afghanistan's inclusion on the United Nations' blacklist of countries where child soldiers are commonly used, like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, government leaders are expected to sign an undertaking with Radhika Coomaraswamy, the secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, during her visit to Kabul today, the officials said.

With the agreement on an action plan to combat the problem, the government will for the first time officially acknowledge the problem of child sex slaves. As part of the Afghan tradition of bacha bazi, literally "boy play," boys as young as 9 are dressed as girls and trained to dance for male audiences, then prostituted in an auction to the highest bidder. Many powerful men, particularly commanders in the military and the police, keep such boys, often dressed in uniforms, as constant companions for sexual purposes.

U.N. officials say they believe there are hundreds of cases of under-age boys in the police, "mostly because of falsification of papers, also bribes, and there's been a big push to get the numbers up," one official said.

Afghanistan hopes its participation in the plan will lead to the removal of the Afghan National Police from the list of organizations condemned by the U.N. for using children in armed conflict. The others in Afghanistan also include the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Islamic Party, insurgent groups that often use children to hide bombs, and in some cases to act as suicide bombers.

In all, 13 countries are on the U.N. list of those with "grave violations against children in armed conflict." In most of those countries, however, the organizations responsible are rebels and insurgents, rather than the national police or military.

NATO officials have been aware of the recruitment problem for some time, and the former military commander, General Stanley A. McChrystal, issued an order in 2010 warning troops to be on the lookout for under-age recruits. NATO trainers hope to add an additional 23,000 police officers by next October, part of a planned 42-percent increase in the country's security forces by 2012.

Asked about the military's policy regarding commanders who abuse children, a spokesman for the NATO-led military alliance, Lieutenant Colonel John L. Dorrian, said that if any members of the military encountered such abuse they would be obliged to report it. But in the past year, he said, there have not been any reports.

The custom, at least 300 years old in Central Asia, remains notoriously widespread in parts of Afghanistan. The former governor of Kandahar province, Gul Agha Shirzai, an ex-warlord and close ally of the Americans who is now the governor of Nangarhar province, has been seen at many public events with teenaged boys or young men with heavy makeup, although a spokesman for his office has denied that they were bacha bazi.

The practice of bacha bazi is known throughout Afghanistan but is particularly notorious in Kandahar. The Taliban originally came to prominence in Kandahar when they intervened in a fight between two pedophile warlords over the possession of a coveted dancing boy. The Taliban also oppose the practice, and banned it when they were in power.

In an unrelated incident, a suicide bombing on Saturday morning claimed the life of the deputy governor of Kandahar province. Shortly after the deputy governor, Abdul Latif Ashna, left home on his way to the office, officials said, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle pulled alongside his unarmored car and detonated his explosives. Mr. Ashna was killed instantly, and two bodyguards and a driver were seriously wounded.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a car carrying the deputy governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Saturday, killing him and wounding three of his bodyguards, the Interior Ministry said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a text message to reporters, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef said the bomber killed the deputy governor.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030...#ixzz1CdRkUATi

31 januari 2011, 18:34	#1
poekieJ Parlementsvoorzitter Geregistreerd: 8 juni 2010 Berichten: 2.164	Afghaanse pedofilie Ik was op icasualties aan het kijken, en daar kwam ik verdorie een degoutant artikel tegen. Afghans to stop police recruitment of children Sunday, January 30, 2011 By Rod Nordland, The New York Times KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan is expected to sign a formal agreement with the United Nations today to stop recruiting children into its police forces and ban the common practice of boys being used as sex slaves by military commanders, according to Afghan and U.N. officials. The effort by Afghanistan's international backers to rapidly expand the country's police and military forces has had the unintended consequence of drawing many under-age boys into service, the officials conceded. Stung by Afghanistan's inclusion on the United Nations' blacklist of countries where child soldiers are commonly used, like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, government leaders are expected to sign an undertaking with Radhika Coomaraswamy, the secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, during her visit to Kabul today, the officials said. With the agreement on an action plan to combat the problem, the government will for the first time officially acknowledge the problem of child sex slaves. As part of the Afghan tradition of bacha bazi, literally "boy play," boys as young as 9 are dressed as girls and trained to dance for male audiences, then prostituted in an auction to the highest bidder. Many powerful men, particularly commanders in the military and the police, keep such boys, often dressed in uniforms, as constant companions for sexual purposes. U.N. officials say they believe there are hundreds of cases of under-age boys in the police, "mostly because of falsification of papers, also bribes, and there's been a big push to get the numbers up," one official said. Afghanistan hopes its participation in the plan will lead to the removal of the Afghan National Police from the list of organizations condemned by the U.N. for using children in armed conflict. The others in Afghanistan also include the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Islamic Party, insurgent groups that often use children to hide bombs, and in some cases to act as suicide bombers. In all, 13 countries are on the U.N. list of those with "grave violations against children in armed conflict." In most of those countries, however, the organizations responsible are rebels and insurgents, rather than the national police or military. NATO officials have been aware of the recruitment problem for some time, and the former military commander, General Stanley A. McChrystal, issued an order in 2010 warning troops to be on the lookout for under-age recruits. NATO trainers hope to add an additional 23,000 police officers by next October, part of a planned 42-percent increase in the country's security forces by 2012. Asked about the military's policy regarding commanders who abuse children, a spokesman for the NATO-led military alliance, Lieutenant Colonel John L. Dorrian, said that if any members of the military encountered such abuse they would be obliged to report it. But in the past year, he said, there have not been any reports. The custom, at least 300 years old in Central Asia, remains notoriously widespread in parts of Afghanistan. The former governor of Kandahar province, Gul Agha Shirzai, an ex-warlord and close ally of the Americans who is now the governor of Nangarhar province, has been seen at many public events with teenaged boys or young men with heavy makeup, although a spokesman for his office has denied that they were bacha bazi. The practice of bacha bazi is known throughout Afghanistan but is particularly notorious in Kandahar. The Taliban originally came to prominence in Kandahar when they intervened in a fight between two pedophile warlords over the possession of a coveted dancing boy. The Taliban also oppose the practice, and banned it when they were in power. In an unrelated incident, a suicide bombing on Saturday morning claimed the life of the deputy governor of Kandahar province. Shortly after the deputy governor, Abdul Latif Ashna, left home on his way to the office, officials said, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle pulled alongside his unarmored car and detonated his explosives. Mr. Ashna was killed instantly, and two bodyguards and a driver were seriously wounded. A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a car carrying the deputy governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Saturday, killing him and wounding three of his bodyguards, the Interior Ministry said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a text message to reporters, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef said the bomber killed the deputy governor. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030...#ixzz1CdRkUATi