IRAQ: Children and Armed Conflict

Submitted by crinadmin on Thu, 15/03/2012 - 16:53

Summary: The information below is based on the 2011 report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (A/65/820-S/2011/250) issued on 23 April 2011. More information is available in the report.

Scroll down for UN documents on Children and Armed Conflict in Iraq.

Children were used in Iraq by Al-Qaida in Iraq to spy and scout, to transport military supplies and equipment, to videotape attacks, to plant explosive devices and to actively engage in attacks against security forces and civilians.

There have been consistent reports received in 2010 by the United Nations from civil society groups, national authorities and security forces, as well as the United States Forces in Iraq (USF-I), that Al-Qaida in Iraq operates a youth wing for children under the age of 14 called “Birds of Paradise” (also referred to as “Paradise Boys” or “Youth of Heaven”) to carry out suicide attacks against military, government and civilian targets. Information concerning this wing of Al-Qaida in Iraq is difficult to verify owing to the group’s clandestine nature and the difficulty in identifying its leadership and chain of command.

However, Al-Qaida in Iraq reportedly targets vulnerable children for forced recruitment, such as orphans, street children and the mentally disabled. In other instances, insurgents have allegedly used children as proxy bombers who did not know they were carrying explosives that were intended to be detonated remotely without their knowledge.

At least 194 children were killed and 232 injured as a result of the continued conflict in 2010. The majority of these incidents took place in the governorates of Baghdad, Ninewa, Kirkuk and Basra. Access to many parts of Iraq is limited to United Nations staff as a result of security conditions, and therefore verification of all incidents was not possible. As a result, it is believed by the United Nations that these figures may underrepresent the actual number of child casualties during the year.

The largest number of casualties is attributed to Al-Qaida in Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which carry out indiscriminate attacks, including suicide bombers, car bombs, and roadside bombs, with the intention of creating terror among the population and engendering a climate of fear in public places where civilians, including children, tend to gather. ISI had taken responsibility for the attack on 31 October against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad that killed 55 people, including 3 children. In addition, children were also killed or maimed as a result of being caught in the crossfire between insurgent groups and military or police forces engaged in combat, or during checkpoints confrontations.

The ongoing security situation has in some instances compromised children’s access to education. In particular, threats and intimidation against specific groups remain a concern. For example, in October 2010, as a result of the attack by ISI against Our Lady of Salvation Church, it was reported that many schools in Baghdad, often sharing the same grounds as their churches, cancelled classes for several weeks out of fear of a similar attack taking place by ISI or another insurgent group intending to terrorize the community.

The detention of children by USF-I ceased during the reporting period. The United States-Iraq status of forces agreement requires that juveniles detained by USF-I be released, or, if sufficient evidence exists, that they be transferred to the Iraqi justice system for processing. As of June 2010, no juveniles remained in USF-I custody. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, supported by UNICEF, started a “justice for children” project, which combined prevention, protection, reintegration and restorative justice for children and youth in 2009. Four mobile legal teams continued to provide assistance to boys in pre- and post-trial detention in Baghdad and Basra in 2010. Many of these boys were accused of being involved in terrorist activities, which carries a 15-year jail sentence if convicted. Others had been in detention without a formal charge for more than 12 months.