CHILDREN SUICIDE BOMBERS ON RISE IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

A new phenomenon is sweeping across Iraq and Afghanistan---children suicide bombers.

The growing number of children suicide bombers in both war zones has been ignored by the mainstream media in the United States.

U.N. Grapples With Suicide Attacks by Children

By Thalif Deen

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41008

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (IPS) - The United Nations is expressing "serious concern" over the growing number of suicide attacks involving children, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq."This is a relatively new phenomenon, and the United Nations has documented several high-profile cases of children involved in attacks," says a new 45-page report on "Children and Armed Conflict" released Wednesday.

Pointing an accusing finger at insurgent groups, including al Qaeda and its affiliated militias in Iraq, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the study says the United Nations is unable to get any commitments from any of these groups or organisations to end the practice. Asked for her comments, U.N. Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the secretary-general on children and armed conflict, told IPS that suicide bombings involving children raise a whole host of new issues. "We are grappling with the problem of how to deal with this phenomenon," she said. First, are suicide bombers "combatants" in the sense of the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of prisoners of war?

Are potential suicide bombers "soldiers" and are these suicide bombers deemed child soldiers? she asked.

"Secondly, one purpose of U.N. Security Council resolution 1612 is to enter into action plans with military commanders and get child soldiers released. But how do we do that with suicide bombers or potential suicide bombers?" she asked.

Thirdly, those using suicide bombers, such as al Qaeda and others, are the least likely to engage in a dialogue with the United Nations about the release of children, as is done with governments and other insurgent groups accused of recruiting child soldiers

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