WRITTEN QUESTION E-3021/03 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission. Child trafficking in Afghanistan.
Date: 2003-10-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Afghanistan, EU aid, child labour, child protection, fight against crime, judicial cooperation, police cooperation, trafficking in human beings

8.4.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

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But this support would be pointless if the Law enforcement side of the strategy would not be addressed
too. Therefore the Commission has decided to contribute more than EUR 70 million (funded by the budget
line B7-300 and B7-305 in 2002 and 2003) to the re-enforcement of law and order ensuring payment of
salaries, equipment and training to the national police. This complements directly the involvement of
Germany which is the lead donor for re-establishing the national police force.

Impact so far and future action of the Commission

Eradication of opium-poppy production requires a fairly long period of time (in Pakistan and Thailand for
example it took 15 year to achieve satisfactory results). The prevailing insecurity and the fact that the ATA
has only limited control over the country set up a conducive environment for illegal crop cultivation. In
addition, the growing demand for opium in neighbouring countries which do have weak governments,
makes eradication in Afghanistan even more difficult. These, together with the tremendous rural poverty
the population regarding the illegal production and danger of
and the widespread unawareness of
consumption are the main reasons that
the programme supported by the Commission and the
international community has had little impact so far. However, the Community and other partners
(especially the United Kingdom and Germany) will continue their support to government in this area, as it
is only through a sustained commitment that the Afghan Government will be able to realize the goals set
out
in the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy which will remain the basic guidelines for all
interventions.

the
Since more understanding of
Commission is currently preparing a project to assess these issues and to incorporate the findings into
projects.

the socio-economic determinants of drug production is required,

Further to this, the Commission intends to continue its commitment to fight against rural poverty, which
is considered as a main reason for opium-poppy cultivation. Rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure and
support to horticulture production (Afghanistan was a very important exporter of fruits and nuts before
the civil war) are key elements to re-establish efficiency of other farming systems providing more attractive
alternatives to farmers. The Community is identified as lead agency for this aspect of alternative livelihoods
with the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy. The Commission together with other donors (World
Bank and the United States)
is supporting delivery of health services to the rural population as a
complementary action.

A further key condition for the anti-drugs strategy is that the ATA gains more control over the country
and that security is re-established quickly to end the anarchy prevailing in some regions. In this regard,
support is provided by Germany (training and re-establishing the national police) and the Community via
the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) ensuring payment of salaries and equipment to
the police and on helping to strengthen border police capacity to tackle drug smuggling. The extension of
ISAF to the provinces and the creation of Provincial Reconstruction Teams recently decided by the United
Nations Security Council together with the rebuilding of the National Army supported by France and the
United States may also improve the security situation in future.

A copy of the table providing overview of Commission programmes to Afghanistan is being forwarded
direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.

(2004/C 88 E/0650)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3021/03

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(14 October 2003)

Subject: Child trafficking in Afghanistan

On the basis of Unicef reports, much publicity was recently given to the problem of child trafficking in
Afghanistan, which is taking on ever greater dimensions. The Afghan police intercepted a group of around
50 children, some of them only four years old, who had come from the north-eastern province of
Badakhshan and were being taken by road to an unknown destination through the neighbouring province
of Takhar. The authorities suspect that the boys were destined either to attend religious schools in Pakistan

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8.4.2004

and Iran, or to be sold and taken to a foreign country for purposes of illegal work or sexual exploitation. A
Unicef representative stated that there were also unconfirmed reports of missing children in the south of
the country.

Furthermore, according to a senior figure in the Afghan police, there is evidence of Pakistani citizens
entering Afghanistan, travelling to remote areas and giving money to poor villagers in exchange for their
children. They promise them that their children will receive a good religious education and ‘divine
enlightenment’.
the children are then taken to religious schools where they are
brainwashed in order that they might swell the ranks of Pakistan’s secret service and religious parties. In
some cases, they are sold as labourers or become the victims of sexual exploitation.

is feared that

It

What action will the Commission take and what programmes will it finance in order to support the central
government of Afghanistan and improve policing throughout the country, so as to put an end to the
exploitation of the population, and in particular to child trafficking?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

The Commission is also concerned by recent reports from Afghanistan about abductions of young
children, and very much welcomes the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (Unicef)
decision to send a child rights professional to Northern Afghanistan.

The Commission, and Member States are strongly engaged in building a strong judicial system and police
force to ensure there is effective law enforcement across Afghanistan.

Germany is the lead donor on police reform. By December 2003 a total of 5 000 new and existing police
will have received training, and Germany will be rolling out police training to the Provinces. To support
this, in 2002, the Commission contributed EUR 10 million to the Law and Order Trust Fund (which pays
for police salaries and training), and a further EUR 15,5 million in 2003. In addition, it has earmarked a
further EUR 60 million for the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) in 2003-2004.

Italy is the lead donor for Judicial reform. To date, USD 20 million has been spent on reforming the
judicial system, including refurbishing buildings in Kabul and training 120 legal professionals. For 2003,
the Commission and Italy are co-financing EUR 6 million for the refurbishment of district level judicial
centres and training of local staff.

The new Constitution will also be critical. The statement at the 21 September 2003 Dubai Afghanistan
conference stressed the importance of enshrining Human Rights for all, including women and children. It
noted ‘the EU is aware that Afghanistan recognises its obligations under International Law, especially
concerning Human Rights, and looks forward to seeing these obligations respected fully in the new
Constitution.’ The 19/20 October 2003 Troika to Afghanistan underlined the importance of meeting these
obligations.

(2004/C 88 E/0651)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3031/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2003)

Subject: Community subsidies in the cultural sphere

Associations play a central role in any country’s social development, not only in terms of active
involvement and self-organisation on the part of citizens, but also of the services which associations