Irish Sun, November 23, 2009

Sexual abuse of Afghan children decried by UN

More than one in five children born in Afghanistan dies before the age of five, according to UNICEF

Children in Afghanistan are suffering from serious child abuse and high levels of mortality.

"Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born," Daniel Toole, UNICEF regional director for South Asia, told a news briefing in Geneva.

United Nations officials, speaking in Kabul, have said children are being deprived in the worst possible ways with their rights being neglected despite vast flow of Western aid into the country.

The Kabul news conference, marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, was told Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world; thirty per cent of children are involved in child labour; forty-three per cent of girls are married under age.

More than one in five children born in Afghanistan dies before the age of five, according to UNICEF estimates.

Members of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission spoke about reports of sexual exploitation of children by combatants from past military conflicts.

They said Afghanistan has had some of the highest figures of sexual abuse in recent years.

Characters Count: 1483