JINHA

AMED – According to a report from Turkey's Human Rights Association (İHD), in the last year 21 children were killed, 4 of them (nearly 20%) directly by security forces.

In addition, five died in suspicious deaths, three from official neglect, three in uninvestigated killings during demonstrations, three on the border, one in a mine explosion and one at the hands of the paramilitary "village guard" forces. Twelve children committed suicide in 2014, according to the report, titled "Neglect of Children's Rights in 2014."

The recent spate of police killings of children in Cizre, in Northern Kurdistan, has drawn attention to the precariousness of children's lives in the country.With police especially targeting children at demonstrations using live ammunition, tear gas canisters and armored vehicles, many children were killed and many more will live with injuries for the rest of their lives.

The "Anti-Terror Law" in Turkey justifies a range of abuses of children's rights by allowing for the arrest, detention and trial of minors. In the past year, security forces arrested 444 children and imprisoned 106. Torture was widely reported by children under detention. 516 legal cases against children were opened over the course of the year. 872 children had records opened about them.

Violence (including sexual violence) against children also took place in the home, at school and in public places, says the report.

Lawyer Mahsun Kaya, member of the Children's Committee of the Diyarbakır branch of İHD, emphasized that much violence against children came from security forces, whether at demonstrations or while children were under arrest.

He pointed out that while Turkey has been a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for 18 years, the country still has not fulfilled the convention's requirements.

(be-ae/fk/cm)