1 June 2011 – Hundreds of children today celebrated International Children’s Day in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners called on all parties to the conflict in the country to protect children and provide them with access to education.

More than 300 Muslim and Hindu children from local schools and orphanages sang and danced at this year’s event in the Department of Labour and Social Affairs in the capital city of Nangarhar province.

“I am very happy to celebrate this day,” six-year-old Hasina told UNAMA. She has studied in kindergarten for the past two years and “learned a lot.”

The event was organized in part by the Child Protection Action Network (CPAN) in Nangarhar province. CPAN - a nation-wide initiative comprised of representatives from the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Departments of Social Affairs and Police, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), UNICEF and partner groups- coordinates efforts to curb children's rights violations and to protect and promote their rights.

“Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child,” said Peter Crowley, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, in astatement on today’s occasion.

He called on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan “to do everything possible to protect children during hostilities, as required by international humanitarian law.”

Speaking at today’s event, the Director of Social Affairs at the provincial Department of Labour and Social Affairs, Abdul Hakim Sherzad, said there are improvements as a result of CPAN’s involvement.

“People are now more aware that children also have their rights to get a better education and life,” Sherzad said.

In neighbouring Kunar province, a two-day workshop was held for dozens of local school teachers at Fatima Girl High School in Assadabad City. Organized by the Education and Child Rights Section of the AIHRC in Jalalabad, the workshop focused on fundamental child rights and protection of children in armed conflicts, including protecting children from underage recruitment by the police and military forces.

In January, the Government of Afghanistan and the UN signed a child protection plan to end recruitment and use of children in the Afghan National Security Forces and other violations.

“Today’s agreement contributes towards the placing of the protection of children affected by the conflict in Afghanistan at the centre of the Government’s agenda,” said Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, at the signing ceremony in the Afghan capital of Kabul. 

Read more about the action plan and UN’s involvement in child protection in Afghanistan.

By UNAMA Jalalabad