On their international day.. Half of Iraq's children are poor and victims of trafficking and deprivation

Shafaq News / The tragic reality of Iraqi childhood on its international day, filled with deprivation, poverty, displacement, and trafficking, renders Iraq one of the world's ten most dangerous countries for children, according to a global organization's report.

"The deteriorating economic situation in Iraq, in general, has caused child poverty to rise to 40%," stated a UN report issued by World Vision International for the Protection of Children, warning of "an increase in violence against children and the denial of some 7.4 million children their right to regular education."

"The poverty rate among children is 60%, which is higher than stated in the report, with children in the Kurdistan Region accounting for 15%. In Kurdistan, 10,750 children work, with approximately 10% exposed to violence," Najer Kaka'i, a civil activist for children, told Shafaq News Agency.

"Widespread violence, the absence of shelters, the lack of sufficient funds to include them in the social protection network, the loss of a parent or family break-up, divorce, and displacement are all reasons why children engage in begging and hard labor," Kaka'i said.

Hassan Hamid, a child who has been displaced from Saladin for eight years, grew up in a vegetable market in al-Sulaymaniyah, where he said that there were no jobs suitable for children, especially since the conditions of his displacement forced him to drop out of school and seek refuge in the field of work because his family lacks a breadwinner.

"Most of the working children's parents are elderly, unable to work, and cannot provide their children with school supplies. Even assistance is only sufficient for a few days, and working here is not enough to meet the need," Hamid continued.

The number of orphans in Iraq has increased in recent years, owing to wars and violence, to exceed the five million barrier in total, most of whom live in difficult conditions and suffer from a lack of access to basic rights.

International Day for Protection of Children, observed in many countries as Children's Day on June 1 since 1950, was established by the Federation at its November 1949 congress in Moscow.

Several countries continue to celebrate World children's Rights day on June 1 and November 20 each year, as recommended by the UN General Assembly in 1954, as a day of global fraternity and understanding among children.