GENEVA (AFP) — A United Nations committee on Friday asked the United States to investigate claims that children detained by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan have been subject to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."
In a review of the country's implementation of its commitments under optional protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN committee also asked the US to avoid charging minors within the military justice system.
In addition, it encouraged the country to raise its minimum army recruitment age to 18 years from the current volunteer recruitment age of 17.
The US had last month confirmed that its army is currently holding around 500 minors in detention in Iraq, as well as nearly a dozen juveniles in Afghanistan.
Ahead of the UN Committee's review, the US had also defended its detention of minors, saying it had developed an "extensively robust" programme to meet the special needs of child combatants.
"The US does detain juveniles that are encountered on the battlefield," Sandra Hodgkinson, deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Defense, said then.
In its report, the UN committee said it was "concerned over the number of children detained over extended periods of time," in certain cases for over a year without access to legal advice.
"Furthermore, the Committee is concerned over reports indicating the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detained children," said the Committee.
It asked for these reports to be "investigated in an impartial manner" and said those responsible for such acts "should be brought to justice".
The committee highlighted the fact that the US "failed to prevent the deployment of volunteer recruits below the age of 18 years to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003 and 2004."
Currently, recruitment is allowed for volunteers at 17 years, but consent is required from their legal guardians.
The committee encouraged the US to raise the minimum recruitment age for the armed forces to 18 years, and to ensure that recruitment does not target disadvantaged groups.
In addition, the committee urged the US to ratify optional protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The US has not ratified the main convention, the only state not to do so apart from Somalia.
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