VZCZCXRO8870
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHBUL #0637/01 0520737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210737Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5734

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000637 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG SOCI KTIP
SUBJECT: CHILD SOLDIERS PREVENTION ACT DEMARCHE POINTS 
 
REF: A. A. 09 STATE 3559 
     ¶B. B. 09 STATE 121328 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Following the request (Ref B) to inform our 
host government of the provisions of the Child Soldier 
Prevention Act (CSPA) and its impending implementation, 
Embassy Kabul delivered demarche points to the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Defense (MOD) to review 
the progress they are making on demobilization and 
reintegration activities. Based on these discussions and on 
further information from NATO Training Mission Afghanistan 
(NTM-A), Embassy Kabul is persuaded of the soundness of ANA 
and ANP vetting and recruitment procedures and strongly 
recommends that Afghanistan not be placed on the CSPA 
sanctions list that accompanies the 2010 TIP report. End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On February 1, Pol and Pol Miloffs meet with Major 
General Farahi, Director for Counter-Terrorism, MOI and 
Brigadier General Ghulam Jan, Director of Recruitment, MOI, 
in charge of recruiting for the ANP; and on February 16 with 
Brigadier General Ibrahim, Deputy Chief of Recruiting, MOD, 
in charge of recruiting for the ANA. As Post reported in Ref 
A, Embassy Kabul recognizes that GIROA does not recruit child 
combatants. The ANA and the ANP, working in concert with 
NTM-A actively vet recruits and reject underage applicants. 
(NOTE: Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan 
(CSTC-A) remains embedded in NTM-A. End note.)  Both the MOI 
and the MOD value the USG's technical assistance in improving 
their recruitment and vetting procedures, and emphasized 
their commitment to ensuring that underage applicants are not 
permitted into the ANP or ANA. 
 
----------------- 
Strict Guidelines 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) MOI sits on two Inter-Ministerial Commissions 
devoted to Child Protection Issues. They hold monthly 
meetings, and send monthly monitoring reports to the 
President documenting recruitment activities; we were invited 
to attend these meetings. Since BG Ghulum Jan,s appointment 
four years ago as Director of Recruitment, he has implemented 
rigorous recruiting procedures. He praised the U.S. training 
course he attended, drawing on this training to draft solid 
recruitment procedures for the ANP.  Recruits are assessed on 
the following items: age (18-34); citizenship; evidence of 
physical or mental disability; and evidence of drug 
addiction. Recruits receive a medical clearance and a 
criminal background check on themselves and their family 
members; and must provide two references, one of which should 
be from a community elder, who will verify their age, 
identity, and good citizenship.  MOI's Administrative 
Department handles hiring for service workers; all service 
workers undergo the same procedures. 
 
¶4. (SBU) MOD follows similar procedures for military and 
service personnel with the same stringent guidelines, 
including separate interviews with the applicants and their 
families to determine their motivation in joining the armed 
forces. Recruitment centers in all 34 provinces follow these 
procedures. The MOD underscored that it follows Presidential 
Decree 97 on recruitment, which set recruitment at ages 
18-27. The MOD has responded to the recent pressure to 
increase troop size in the ANA by raising its upper age limit 
on new recruits to age 35. The ANA rejects on average one 
percent of recruits monthly who fail the age screening.  Per 
Reftel A, Embassy Kabul remains confident that the ANA and 
its subsets, including the Afghan National Army Air Corps 
(ANAAC), and the ANP and its subsets including the Afghan 
Border Police, Customs Police, Afghan Uniform Police (AUP), 
Afghan National Civil Order of Police (ANCOP), Afghan Public 
Protection Force (APPF), Counter-Narcotics Unit, the 
Anti-Crime Unit, and the Afghan Police Protection Program 
(AP3) have robust recruiting and vetting practices in place 
against child soldiers. 
 
-------------------------- 
Insurgent Use of Children 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The MOI believes that insurgent recruitment of 
children remains a problem. They are especially concerned 
about children being recruited as suicide bombers. MOI's 
Counter-Terrorism Department and the National Directorate of 
Security (NDS) actively investigate cases of child 
insurgency. However, Embassy Kabul believes that sanctioning 
GIROA  as a result of insurgent use of child soldiers is 
counterproductive, undermining progress on joint military 
initiatives. 
 
 
KABUL 00000637  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Embassy Kabul reiterated to the ministries the 
concern that children may be employed or exploited for a 
variety of service personnel positions, including sex work, 
particularly at the provincial level. We received assurances 
that underage persons were neither recruited, hired, or 
retained if previously hired, in service positions. 
 
¶8. (U) COMMENT: Embassy Kabul supports the progress GIROA has 
made on eliminating children from its ranks and from its 
support functions. GIROA has done so during a protracted war 
and under considerable international pressure to increase the 
size of its armed forces. Further, given the highly 
militarized nature of Afghan society, GIROA is showing 
demonstrable commitment to preventing children from joining 
its armed forces.  We strongly urge that the Afghanistan is 
not placed on the CSPA 2010 sanctions list that accompanies 
the 2010 TIP report. End Comment. 
Eikenberry