Quqnoos, November 20, 2008

Child abuse rises in north - rights group

Violence against children increases in north, senior rights worker says

Child abuse has tripled in Afghanistan’s northern provinces, the head of the human rights commission in the north, Said Muhammad Sami, said.

He said the sexual abuse of, and violence against, children had increased threefold in four of the north’s provinces.

He added that many families suffering from extreme poverty force their children to sell goods on the streets and in the bazaars, actions he said violated children’s rights.

These comments come after Afghanistan signed an agreement on the rights of children that forces states to take responsibility for the physical, mental, moral and social safety of their nation’s children.

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