- Full Report in English PDF
Through two decades of violence and war in Afghanistan all parties to the conflict have violated children’s rights. Today Afghan children and adolescents face dire circumstances. Approximately 1 in 4 Afghan children die of preventable causes before the age of five. Approximately 1 in 2 children suffer from malnutrition. The maternal mortality rate is the second highest in the world at 1,700/100,000. Approximately 2 million Afghan children are refugees or internally displaced. Approximately half of all landmine victims in Afghanistan are children (an estimated 5-10 people died everyday in 1999 from landmine injuries). Children and adolescents are reported to be forcibly recruited as soldiers. Many have no access to education or basic healthcare. Afghan girls suffer from institutionalized discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence, and trafficking for sexual purposes. Severe physical, emotional and mental repercussions have taken an enormous toll on several generations of Afghan children, who continue to suffer from the ongoing violence. Most recently, UNICEF reports that of the 7.5 million Afghans who are expected to be dependent on international relief to survive the winter two-thirds are women and children. 1.5 million are children under the age of five.
