Iranian authorities are “committing a grave violation of international humanitarian law amounting to a war crime” by mobilizing children to fight in the war with the U.S. and Israel, Amnesty International says.
In a statement Thursday, Amnesty International said a deputy of the IGRC’s Mohammad Rasoul Allah Corps of Greater Tehran, Rahim Nadali, announced that a recruitment campaign called the “Homeland-Defending Combatants for Iran” is “open to volunteers” aged 12 and above.
Eyewitnesses have reported, and audiovisual evidence has shown, child soldiers at Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ checkpoints and patrols, armed with weapons, Amnesty International said.
“The Iranian authorities are shamelessly encouraging children as young as 12 to join an IRGC-run military campaign, putting them in grave danger and violating international law, which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in the military,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said.
