Reports on the effect of the war in Afghanistan on young refugees in urban Pakistan, with emphasis on the many who are compelled into harmful child labor. Prepared by the New York City-based Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, this report reveals that hardly any international humanitarian assistance has reached refugees living in urban areas of Pakistan. Consequently, many refugee parents with few options for earning a livelihood are forcing their children into high-risk work – as carpet weavers, garbage pickers, beggars, bricklayers, house servants, and even drug sellers – to support the household. This work not only exposes the children to disease, physical and sexual abuse, and economic exploitation, but also denies them their rights to education, health care, and protection. Among the report’s recommendations are to: (1) provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable refugees, including child and adolescent workers; (2) support action to help young peoplerecover from gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence; (3) create short- and long-term alternatives to child labor; and (4) provide education and training to young people repatriating to Afghanistan or settling in Pakistan, including secondary and university opportunities, vocational training, conflict resolution and life skills training, and health education.
