The US State Department has released the Human Trafficking Report, which it submitted to Congress under the Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act. While 36 countries were monitored in the report, it was observed that Libya, Yemen and Somalia remained on the “Special Situation List.” Once again, the foreign ministry report states that the YPG/PKK terrorist organization forcibly detained children in Iraq and Syria and provided them with armed training to use them in conflicts. documented.
“CHILDREN ARE VULNERABLE AGAINST THESE GROUPS”
Emphasizing that in addition to DAESH and Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, the PKK forcibly recruited Iraqi children to its armed forces, the report stated that Iraqi children are vulnerable to these groups.
In the report, “Many sources report that the PKK and YPG operating in the Iraqi Kurdish region and Sinjar continue to recruit children and use them. Some sources reported that in 2021, the PKK recruited dozens of children, including children from the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, to prepare them for the conflict.” findings were included.
The report also included information that in 2021, organizations such as YPS, the extensions of the PKK in Sinjar, forcibly recruited underage children and youth in the region and used them in armed activities.
While it has been pointed out that almost every year since 2018, the US administration’s human trafficking reports include the forcibly recruiting and abusing children by these groups, “in 2018, non-governmental organizations stated that the PKK recruited and educated children from Sinjar, Mahmur and other regions, and then sent them to Sinjar. , Turkey, and reported that they were sent to bases in the Kandil Mountains between Iraq and Iran.” statements were included.
In the Syria section of the report, it was reported that the YPG/PKK continues to recruit children under the age of 12 and train them.
“Since 2017, international observers have reported that the YPG and YPJ have occasionally forcibly collected children from refugee camps in northeastern Syria,” the report said. it was said.
The report also states that Iranian-backed groups collect children from countries in the region, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, who were captured by human smugglers and used them in conflicts in Syria.
In the United Nations (UN) “Child Warriors” report on children used in wars, it was emphasized that the terrorist organization continued to recruit children by force.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
In the report, it was pointed out that more than 4 million children became refugees due to the Russia-Ukraine War that started on February 24, 2022, and that they are vulnerable to human trafficking.
The following statements were also used in the report on human trafficking in the context of the Ukraine war:
“People who have become refugees and displaced are particularly vulnerable to trafficking. War increases the vulnerability of individuals to trafficking, even for the displaced. Ukrainian officials indicate that by the end of March 2022, Russian forces forcibly transferred thousands of Ukrainians to Russia. These citizens are highly vulnerable to human trafficking. Unconfirmed reports continue to come in that Russian-led forces are using children as soldiers, informants and human shields.”
In the Greek part of the report, it was noted that unaccompanied children, especially Afghans, fell into the hands of prostitution gangs in order to survive.
In the report, which states that those staying in refugee camps in Greece are also vulnerable to human trafficking, “NGOs report rape of migrant women in migrant and refugee camps and claim that organized crime groups in the camps use tents and shipping containers as brothels. It is believed that most migrants and asylum seekers at some point in their journey rely on smugglers and in some cases are forced into exploitation upon arrival in Greece.” statements were noted.
The report advised Greece to “make an independent investigation into allegations of forced return to Turkey of asylum seekers, some of whom are thought to be victims of human trafficking”.
The “Special List” has not changed in the report this year either. Libya and Yemen were included in the special list for the 7th time, and Somalia for the 20th time.
It was pointed out that human trafficking in these countries, which are in conflict and turmoil, continues intensively. (AA)