VOA News: Declassify Afghan Child Sex Report, Government Watchdog Tells Pentagon
VOA News: Declassify Afghan Child Sex Report, Government Watchdog Tells Pentagon. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwgrbYzzU
https://www.voanews.com/a/declassify-afghan-child-sex-report-watchdog-tells-pentagon/3968103.html
“Afghan officials remain complicit, especially in the sexual exploitation and recruitment of children by Afghan security forces,” SIGAR said in a published document outlining the Congressional report.
The issue now, according to SIGAR, is determining whether the U.S. is ignoring the abuse in violation of the Leahy Laws, which forbid U.S. agencies from providing support to foreign government organizations credibly suspected of committing human rights violations.
A spokesman for the Defense Department called child sex abuse “heinous,” but said that each case needs to be handled on an individual basis.
“Child rape is always heinous and certainly could constitute a gross violation of human rights; however, each case requires a factual and legal review to determine whether it is a credible allegation of a gross violation of human rights under the Leahy Law,” spokesman Adam Stump said.