Trafficking: the plight of Afghan children, victims of 'bacha bazi'
Yesterday the US State Department released a report on efforts to fight human trafficking in 188 countries and territories. It ranks Afghanistan among the countries with the highest level of risk, slamming recruitment of child soldiers and sexual slavery. It recommends anti-trafficking legislation and an inter-ministerial commission.
Rome (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The ongoing existence of an aberrant form of child slavery called “Bacha Bazi” is at the highlight of the section on Afghanistan of the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, released yesterday, at the Benjamin Franklin Room, US State Department, in Washington.
The study ranks countries on a tiered list in terms of “a comprehensive, objective assessment of the state of antitrafficking efforts across 188 countries and territories, including the United States,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the event. “For more than two decades, this report has documented emerging trends, highlighted areas of progress and setback, identified effective initiatives combatting human trafficking.”
Based on data collected from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, the research offers an overview of human trafficking and government actions against it, based on reports from diplomatic staff, NGOs, academic studies, consulted authorities, journalists, single individuals, and other sources from every region of the world.
The critical issues that most affect Taliban-run Afghanistan highlighted in the report – as indicated by multimedia channel Amu TV – concern “a pattern of employing or recruiting child soldiers and sexual slavery by the Taliban, commonly known as bacha bazi, a practice where men exploit boys for social and sexual entertainment”.
This form of violence, according to victims’ statements collected by some NGOs, was already widespread before the fall of Kabul in 2021, and perpetrated by powerful people such as military commanders, public officials, and government leaders.
The 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report ranks Afghanistan a Tier 3 country, the lowest level, because it fails to meet even minimum standards and is not making any effort to fight and eliminate trafficking.
“During the reporting period, Afghan ministries and other public sector institutions did not take meaningful steps to eliminate trafficking,” the report says, noting that children are involved in combat and support roles for the Taliban and other armed groups.
In fact, “The Taliban and other armed groups recruit and use children in combat and support roles. The Taliban often recruits children through coercion, fraud, and false promises. Groups such as ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and the National Resistance Front use children in direct hostilities to plant and detonate improvised explosive devices, carry weapons, spy, and guard bases”.
The recruitment of minors also takes place in madrasas, which in addition to religious indoctrination also provide military training. Meanwhile, the rights of women and other discriminated groups continue to be denied.
“The Taliban continued to undermine the rights of women, members of minority groups, and other vulnerable populations,” the report states, and “hindered the work of NGOs, exacerbating vulnerabilities to trafficking and obstructing victim protection efforts.”
In light of the situation, several recommendations are offered, including to “cease the unlawful recruitment or use of children by the Taliban, including at the local levels, and demobilize children from all armed groups with adequate protection and reintegration support.”
The report calls for “enforcement of the ban on the use of children for sexual slavery (bacha bazi) within the Taliban ranks”, greater efforts to “identify trafficking victims, including by screening vulnerable populations,” and action to ensure that “victims are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.”
The US State Department report urges “increased cooperation with civil society organizations to assist vulnerable populations, including male and female trafficking victims, and reopening victim shelters throughout the country.”
It calls on Afghanistan to “enact and implement a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking in persons” and to “formally convene an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking commission to coordinate efforts.”
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