Age Assessment Guidelines to Prevent and Respond to Child Recruitment in the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF)

These guidelines were endorsed in December 2015 by the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Children and Armed Conflict in Afghanistan. The guidelines were based on an assessment of current practices of age assessment conducted in 2014 and a workshop conducted in Kabul in November 2014. The guidelines were intended to be used during the recruitment process into the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by all concerned professionals, in cases when valid identity documents were lacking or there was a reason to doubt the accuracy of the information based on initial physical appearance, observation, or other factors. The ANSF issued these guidelines to further prevent and address underage recruitment in its offices and units, in line with laws and policies such as the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004) Article 49, as well as other legislation. The Guidelines were prepared by experts, practitioners, and security and military officials from the Government of Afghanistan with the support of UNICEF. Ultimately, this policy enforces that age assessment in the ANSF should be driven by five factors: (1) direct interviews with the volunteer, (2) interviews with family or community members, (3) crosschecking of documentation and all available information, (4) documentation and (5) referral to services and reintegration.