UN condemns death penalty in Iran after execution of teenager, child sexual abuse in Pakistan, and more...

Teenager's execution prompts UN call for halt to death penalty in Iran, UN News Centre, September 22, 2011. Four United Nations human rights experts condemned the public execution by hanging of a 17-year-old boy, which took place yesterday in Iran. In a news release, they expressed outrage at Iran's execution practice, which has continued despite calls for a moratorium by the experts and the international community. They emphasized, "[A]ny judgment imposing the death penalty upon juveniles below the age of 18, and their execution, are incompatible with Iran's international obligations," adding that "[t]here is an absolute ban on the death sentence against persons below the age of 18 at the time of commission of the offence under international human rights law," pursuant to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

What Have We Learned? – NRO Symposium, National Review Online, September 10, 2011. On the decade anniversary of the September 11 attacks, cultural, political, and security experts discussed what has been learned over the past ten years. Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, stated that Saudi Arabia continues to indoctrinate students in "an ideology of religious violence." Saudi textbooks teach 8^th through 12^th graders that "[t]he Jews and Christians are enemies of the believers," "[m]agicians and those practicing witchcraft 'must be killed,'" and "[t]he punishment of homosexuality is death" by burning, stoning, or being thrown from high places. According to U.S. intelligence officials, this type of indoctrination has been linked to the facilitation and support of terrorism.

Child Soldiers Released, Radio Free Asia, September 9, 2011. Two boys, aged 15 and 16, were released from the Burmese military after having been forcibly recruited during the past year. The Burmese military is known for its use of minors in armed combat. One of the boys said that the military withheld his salary after his parents made efforts to secure his release. The other voiced that he escaped his unit twice but was arrested and tortured each time.

Children sexually abused on Pakistan's streets, AsiaOne, August 28, 2011. More than 170,000 children live on the streets in Pakistan and, according to charities working to protect these children, up to 90 percent are sexually abused on the first night they sleep on the street. Rana Asif Habib, head of the Initiator Human Development Foundation (IHDF), stated that these children are beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured, and even killed. A member of Pakistan's largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, reported that the organization's research has found that more than 60 percent of those who "physically torment" and sexually abuse street children are police officers.

Afghan President Karzai meets would-be child suicide bombers, denounces use of children for suicide bombings, Yahoo! News & DAWN.com, August 24, 2011. Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the use of child suicide bombers by the Taliban and other militant groups, calling recruiters "oppressors of Islam" and "oppressors of children." He further stated that "[i]t is cruelty to Islam that they put explosives around a child's body and tell him that when he carries out the attack he will not get killed, only others will get killed." Karzai met with approximately 20 would-be suicide bombers who had either surrendered to authorities or been arrested, some reported to be as young as seven, and ordered aids to help the boys find homes, education, or be released to their parents. The boys were recruited by the Taliban, often at madrassas (religious schools). A 17-year-old boy said that a Taliban recruiter told him he would "go to paradise" and that there would be "virgins, scholars, [and] our prophet" after completing the attack. He added that he was given an injection that "made [him] feel different," consistent with numerous reports that the Taliban frequently drugs would-be suicide bombers to "embolden them to carry out their attacks."