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[ISLAMABAD, 11 February 2010] - The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has strongly condemned a Taliban attack on a school, which left three girls dead and 40 other children injured in Lower Dir, Pakistan on February 3rd. According to media reports, a total of 100 children were victims of suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan in 2009. The worst reported attack took place in a mosque in a residential area of a town in Rawalpindi which killed 45 people and injured 63 others. Almost half the victims were children. SPARC has highlighted a number of cases where children have been victims of violence in the so-called 'war on terror'. In one incident, seven-year-old Laiba was caught up in indiscriminate firing by the Frontiers Corps (FC) while travelling with her family by car in Hayatabad, Peshawar. Laiba lost one of her legs and the other was badly fractured. In another incident on January 27th two children were killed by an improvised explosive device planted in a field in the village of Nanger Khani near Dir District. These relentless killings at the hands of non-State and State actors are in direct violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws as well as of Islamic injunctions. Attacks on residential areas, public places, schools and mosques are prohibited under all humanitarian laws and injunctions of Islam. International human rights and humanitarian laws are being violated on a daily basis in the 'war on terror’. This has exacerbated conditions for children living in tribal areas, who already faced limited or no access to healthcare, education or recreational opportunities. A large number of children have become orphaned, displaced and are living in difficult circumstances. The fourth Geneva Convention guarantees special care for children. Furthermore, the additional Optional Protocol (I) sets out the principle of special protection: “Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason (Art. 77)." This principle also applies to internal armed conflicts (Art. 4, para. 3 APII). SPARC demands that State and non-State actors, including international actors, observe international human rights and humanitarian laws and Islamic injunctions so that children and other human beings are protected in the 'war on terror'.
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