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US lists Afghanistan among worst human trafficking states
The US State Department claimed that there have been frequent reports for child molestation in the Afghan military, and police forces but officers have never been prosecuted for child abuse.
In its annual report – 2020 Trafficking in Person – released on June 25, the US State Department listed 10 countries -Afghanistan, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela – that are allegedly involved in state-sponsored human trafficking.
The report note Bacha Bazi – a slang term in some parts of Afghanistan for a wide variety of activities involving sexual relations between younger adolescent men or boys, who are called dancing boys, and older men – and the presence of children among the Afghan security forces.
The report said, “However, during the reporting period, there was a government policy or pattern of sexual slavery in government compounds (bacha bazı) and recruitment and use of child soldiers. Despite local officials’ widespread acknowledgment that many police, especially commanders at remote checkpoints, recruited boys for Bacha bazı, some high-level and provincial authorities, including at the Ministry of Interior (MOI), categorically denied the existence of bacha bazı among police and would not investigate reports.”
Child molestation is widely criminalized in Afghanistan, and the Human Rights Commission has criticized such behavior among security forces, saying it violates human rights and children’s rights laws, and the government must protect the children.
The State Department has said that it is investigating allegations that 165 children were trafficked in Logar province for sexual exploitation and identified 20 perpetrators.
The report states that some victims of trafficking are forced to have sex in exchange for following up on the case, or that they are raped and sent to prison if they attempt to expose the resulting human traffickers.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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