'The Dark Report': 2,618 Children Subjected to Rights Violations in 2018

Photo: "Kefernahum" movie by Nadine Labaki

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The Migration and Humanitarian Aid Foundation has released the 2018 Monitoring Report for Children's Rights Violations.

2,618 children, including those from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, were subjected to rights violations in the last year, according to what the foundation called the "dark report."

661 cases of rights violations resulted in death and 822 cases resulted in injury, the report said. There were 266 cases where a child was subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation.

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The report was written within the framework of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and the data in the report was compiled from news reports, the foundation stated.

Turkey falls short of implementing the convention and official statistics "hide" violations of children's rights, the report said.

"No reliable official statistics"

"It is not possible to reach reliable statistics on children in Turkey.

"For instance, no public institution currently has clear data on early and forced marriages of children and child suicide. In other words, state institutions do not have data on how many children committed suicide or how many children were forced into marriage.

"During the reporting period, 661 children lost their lives and 822 children were injured in violations against the 'right to life' due to the negligence of the society, families and the state to take the necessary measures.

"These figures reflect the data we were able to reach through media retrieval. There are no published official data on child mortality in 2018. It is a fact that real numbers are far above the numbers that can be reported. Considering that all rights violations are not / cannot be reflected in the press, the magnitude of the figures is worrying.

"During the reporting period, 82 children were detained, 25 children were remanded in custody and courts sentenced children to imprisonment." (AÖ/VK)