AFGHANISTAN
Case Study
Victims of child trafficking in Afghanistan are often placed in orphanages or, in other cases, prisons.This creates risks for the children of being re-trafficked, as orphanages are a reported avenue for the trafficking of children in the region, especially for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Afghanistan lacks the mechanisms needed for protecting victims of trafficking, including mental health care services, re-integration services, and social welfare services.
There are also discrepancies in how the law is applied in relation to trafficking: a shortage of resources and lack of political will to hold perpetrators to account has weakened the implementation of anti-trafficking laws and few, if any, arrests of prominent perpetrators have been made.
Nevertheless, the government of Afghanistan has taken steps to combat child trafficking, including funding extra child protection units. This led to the prevention of 357 children from being recruited as child soldiers, and the arrests of individuals involved in the kidnapping of children for the purpose of Bacha Bazi. However, Government officials – including at the Ministry of Interior – are reported to have categorically denied the existence of Bacha Bazi among police and would not investigate credible reports to the contrary.