The following letter was sent to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees, by Human Rights Watch and other members of the steering committee for the US Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers:

October 4, 2001

The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary:

As the United States government responds to the September 11 attacks, we would like to suggest several steps that should be taken to diminish the very real risk of children being recruited and used as soldiers in possible armed conflict in Afghanistan.

Please find attached a special briefing prepared by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers on patterns of child recruitment by the Taliban, United Front (Northern Alliance) and other warring factions in Afghanistan. Military recruitment of children in Afghanistan (and from madrasas or Islamic seminaries in neighboring Pakistan) is often cyclical, with large scale recruitment drives associated with significant defeats or major offensives.

On October 2, 2001, The New York Times reported that children as young as twelve are fighting as part of United Front forces and that refugees fleeing Kabul report recruitment of boys by the Taliban. We fear that the current military crisis could see unprecedented levels of conscription and mobilization of children. In November 2000, for instance, the Coalition was told by reliable sources with access to the northern areas of a major new recruitment drive by United Front forces in the Panjshir Valley and Badakshan as their military position worsened.

The United States government has committed itself to efforts to end the use of child soldiers, and is a signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which sets eighteen as the minimum age for participation in armed conflict. In the U.S. response to the horrendous acts of September 11, we hope that the Congress and Bush administration will uphold this commitment. In particular, we ask that you:

• Insist that any government armed forces or armed groups receiving U.S. military cooperation or assistance, including the United Front, do not recruit or use children under the age of eighteen as soldiers;

• Urge the government of Pakistan to take urgent steps to monitor and prevent the recruitment of children from madrasas, which have frequently sent students to fight in Afghanistan with the Taliban.

• Support protections, including the granting of refugee status, for children under 18 fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, including possible military recruitment.

• Ensure that any program for rebuilding Afghanistan, aiding a new government, and helping its people recover after the war include programs to demobilize child soldiers and ensure their reintegration into society.

• Support rapid ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, without reservations, in order to reinforce the U.S.' commitment to ending the use of child soldiers.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of armed conflict. Taking these steps will help protect children in Afghanistan and neighboring areas from direct participation in armed conflict and uphold the U.S. commitment to international human rights standards.

We would be happy to discuss these concerns with your staff. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,