Iran urges Afghanistan to combat child trafficking

“The entrance of children from Afghanistan [for labor] is a serious issue… We are going to discuss the matter with the Afghan government since the majority of these children are smuggled into the country and they should be organized,” Rahmani Fazli said on Sunday.
He stressed that in case the Afghan government does not take effective measures in this regard, “We will have to deport these children as illegal immigrants to their country.”
The minister also called on the Iranian judiciary and police to take a more firm position against children trafficking and exploitation in order to protect the rights of the victims.
Iran is home to the largest Afghan diaspora population in the world, as well as over 3 million Afghan refugees, many of who are undocumented.
A number of these children are brought here by criminal networks and are forced to work in agriculture and construction along with adults. Organized crime groups force children to work on the street begging or selling goods.