About 1,500 children are being detained by federal and Kurdish authorities in Iraq for alleged links to the Islamic State group, Human Rights Watch says.
A new report says the children are often arbitrarily arrested and tortured to force confessions.
HRW urges the Iraqi federal and Kurdish regional governments to amend anti-terrorism laws to end such detentions, saying they violate international law.
Iraq and Kurdish officials have so far made no comment.
The Kurdish government has previously rejected an HRW report which alleged that children were being tortured to confess to IS links.
In January, an official said the local authorities’ policy was to “rehabilitate” such children; torture was prohibited; and children were afforded the same rights as other prisoners.
The 53-page report says that at the end of 2018 the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities were holding about 1,500 children for alleged IS links.
At least 185 foreign children have been convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to jail terms, HRW cites the Iraqi government as saying.
The report alleges that the local authorities:
“This sweeping, punitive approach is not justice, and will create lifelong negative consequences for many of these children,” said Joe Becker, children’s rights advocacy director for HRW.
