Subject: Child trafficking in Afghanistan

On the basis of Unicef reports, much publicity was recently given to the problem of child trafficking in Afghanistan, which is taking on ever greater dimensions. The Afghan police intercepted a group of around 50 children, some of them only four years old, who had come from the north-eastern province of Badakhshan and were being taken by road to an unknown destination through the neighbouring province of Takhar. The authorities suspect that the boys were destined either to attend religious schools in Pakistan and Iran, or to be sold and taken to a foreign country for purposes of illegal work or sexual exploitation. A Unicef representative stated that there were also unconfirmed reports of missing children in the south of the country.

Furthermore, according to a senior figure in the Afghan police, there is evidence of Pakistani citizens entering Afghanistan, travelling to remote areas and giving money to poor villagers in exchange for their children. They promise them that their children will receive a good religious education and 'divine enlightenment'. It is feared that the children are then taken to religious schools where they are brainwashed in order that they might swell the ranks of Pakistan's secret service and religious parties. In some cases, they are sold as labourers or become the victims of sexual exploitation.

What action will the Commission take and what programmes will it finance in order to support the central government of Afghanistan and improve policing throughout the country, so as to put an end to the exploitation of the population, and in particular to child trafficking?