“Coomaraswamy said that only 50 percent of primary school-age children were in school, down from 80 percent in 2005. She called on Iraqi religious and community leaders to encourage children to renounce violence and return to school.”____________________________
(April 26, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) A United Nations representative urged political and religious leaders in Iraq on Friday to encourage children to renounce violence, saying that rising numbers of youth are being recruited into insurgent groups and militias.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, U.N. special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, called Iraq's children the "silent victims of the continued violence."
"Since 2004, rising numbers of children have been recruited into militias and insurgent groups, some serving as suicide bombers," she said in a statement after a six-day visit to Iraq. She did not reveal the source of her information.
The U.S. military released several videos at the beginning of February seized from suspected al-Qaida in Iraq hideouts that showed militants training children who appeared as young as 10 to kidnap and kill. The U.S. military said at the time that al-Qaida in Iraq teaches teenage boys how to build car bombs and sends them on suicide missions.
Young children have also been used as decoys in Iraq, but they are rarely the ones behind the attacks. Last March, police said children were used in a car bombing in which the driver gained permission to park in a busy shopping area after pointing out that he was leaving his kids in the back seat. The children were killed along with three Iraqi bystanders.
Coomaraswamy said that only 50 percent of primary school-age children were in school, down from 80 percent in 2005. She called on Iraqi religious and community leaders to encourage children to renounce violence and return to school.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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