A/HRC/7/27 page 10 32. Concern has been repeatedly expressed regarding house searches by Afghan national and international forces, with allegations ranging from cultural insensitivity to excessive use of force to gain entry into compounds and potentially serious misconduct leading to the loss of life. Communities throughout conflict regions have reported particular concerns about night-time raids. Civilian casualties resulting from operations conducted by international forces have generated outrage amongst the population in affected areas and several demonstrations have taken place, most notably in the Eastern region. Killings of civilians by AGEs have tended not to result in similar public reaction. Concerns have also been expressed about cases of alleged mistreatment and prolonged arbitrary detention of some persons detained by international forces. 33. Throughout 2007, the Afghan Government and international military forces have adjusted tactics in response to many of the above concerns, and have supported internal and external independent investigations and reviews, including establishing structures in collaboration with UNAMA to facilitate information-sharing and remedial action. While positive, the effectiveness of these initiatives still needs to be assessed more fully. Notably, many of these developments resulted from a workshop on the protection of civilians held in August led by the United Nations in collaboration with AIHRC. Senior ISAF officials participated in this workshop which reviewed the most pressing protection challenges and discussed developing a collaborative protection framework. The lack of access to other parties to the conflict, however, is a continuing concern. C. Humanitarian access 34. Humanitarian access has become increasingly impaired in conflict-affected areas. At least 78 districts are now rated by the United Nations as extreme risk areas, and are therefore inaccessible to United Nations agencies. According to the Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO), the number of attacks against the personnel and property of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian workers in 2007 is the highest since 2001. D. Internally displaced persons 35. There are 120,000 long-term displaced people in Afghanistan. In 2007, the Government estimated that approximately 37,000 individuals were displaced as a result of growing insecurity and recent violence linked to armed conflict in their areas of origin. While reports indicate that the nature of recent displacement is temporary, in some cases, there has been limited or no access to displaced populations. The operational capability of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is now limited to approximately 55 per cent of the country. E. Children in armed conflict 36. Many children have been victimized in AGE attacks, sometimes as direct targets, and in military operations. Attacks against schools continue, threatening students and teachers. The United Nations has also documented high-profile cases in which children are used to perpetrate attacks and as human shields in blatant breach of international human rights and humanitarian law. In the light of Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), a task force on children in armed conflict is being set up in Afghanistan.