In the name of Almighty Allah
CSHRN’s Press Conference statement
Over Violation of National and International Rights of Children and Increasing of street-children
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2013
Kabul-Afghanistan
More than a decade had passed since the establishment of the new Islamic republic government of Afghanistan. According to the constitution, the government should be committed to its national and international obligations and Universal Declaration of Human Rights and implement them. The state is obliged to avoid any injustice, law-breaking and cruelty acts in the country.
Along with all the social problems that had not been resolved yet, increasing of street-children and drug addict is another shocking warning to the government, international community and the civil society institutions, while millions of dollars have spent by the name securing children’s rights.
Street children refer to children who are under 18 and for their survival obliged to do hard labor or live on the streets.
Worker and Street children are the first victims of the injustice of this system. They have not been benefited from their basic rights which have been mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Declaration on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Factors as corruption, poverty, violence, illiteracy, cultural poverty, homeless, seasonal unemployment, insufficient income, addiction, irresponsible parents, absence of children guardian, running away from home, parents and teachers poor teaching, the media and misuse of the religious beliefs are the factors of increasing the working and street children and the reason that today we have more than two million working and street children and more than three hundred thousand addicts in the country.
Street children are facing disrespect, threat, violence, harassment, encouragement for using drugs, employment in poppy lands and sexual abuse by some adults.
These children, contrary to all accepted national and international conventions and laws, for which the Afghan government is a partner, try to carry out hard labor, most of that can be easily seen on the roads and street of the capital Kabul and other provinces. Such children are called cheap-labor and without any passion and love, the adults and elders use them often.
Malnutrition, physical fatigue, lack of sleep, skeletal defects, infections, reproductive disorders and traffic accidents, are the main threats puting the health of street children in danger and risk.
These children claim to be responsible for subsistence and livelihood of their households, and experience the great hardships and difficulties in their low age. Such conditions caused them to have no opportunity to get benefit from their childhood and continue their degrading and humiliating lives in an inappropriate and uncertain situation.
Based on the constitution, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Declaration on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Convention on the Rights of Children, The Afghan government is responsible to meet the demands of the families of the street children and organize some effective and specific programs to avoid the increasingly social threats in the country.
1- The government is obliged to guarantee the life, health and welfare of the families of street children for food, shelter, medical care and social services.
2- The government is responsible to collect the street children with great respect and help them to get back to their normal lives. It is the job of the state to provide free and compulsory education for the street children.
3- It’s the responsibility of the government to provide and strengthen technical and vocational education for the street children and generalize it in the country.
4- Because of lack of physical and mental growth in children, they need to be supported by their families, educational, medical and security institutions.
5- The municipalities should clear up the entertainment park from the guilty and criminal, who use tobacco and are busy with gambling and other anti-social behaviors inside the park and pave the ground for children and their families to entertain and get benefit from such entertaining places.
6- Children must not be tortured, financially or sexually misused, trafficked, addicted, beg and all other cruel and inhuman treatment by no one, no organization and no band or group. Security forces are responsible for identifying the bands or groups, who misuse the street children and submit them the judicial institution of the country.
7- According to the constitution of Afghanistan, child labor is not permissible; children’s employment to hard-labor will induce to damage education, health and disorder in the physical and mental growth of the street children. Kabul municipality, Ministry of labor and social affairs, ministry of public health and the security forces are obliged to avoid such treatment that are against the rules and regulations of the country.
8- It’s the responsibility of Ministry of labor and social affairs, ministry of public health and Red Crescent to conduct practical and effective solutions and programs for treating the street children with disabilities.
9- While there is no any organization to take charge of tackling vulnerable children’ problems the Afghan government is obligated to specify a particular administration within the frameworks of the mentioned ministries and institutions for handling children issues.
In hope securing children’s rights in the country!
