A/HRC/7/26 Page 12 H. The human rights of children 39. According to several sources, children featured prominently in recent fighting as active combatants – they are recruited by militias as “child recruits” and are reportedly used by insurgent groups to throw grenades for small compensation. The independent expert finds this completely unacceptable and urges all parties to immediately release from their ranks (or from detention centres where they might currently be held) all children associated with armed forces or groups. In this regard, he welcomed the recent report about Somali children in armed conflict submitted to the Security Council, pursuant to its resolution 1612 (2005). 2 40. Traditional protection systems such as community and schools have been supplanted by violence, conflict and displacement. It was reported that new cases of child rape occurred every week, but that the response was often one of social denial and stigma. The numbers of orphans and street children was also increasing due to internal displacement and children were malnourished and often abused in the unregulated and haphazard IDP camps. It was noted that children of minority groups and clans faced greater discrimination and abuse. 41. The recent fighting has also severely affected school enrolment; with enrolment numbers decreased by 50 per cent from the previous year. Most Somali children have very limited chances of accessing formal education and the conflicts of the past months have only exacerbated this situation. When not in school, children were more likely to be recruited, killed or severely injured, forced into child labour and were more vulnerable to trauma and attacks. Young girls in Somalia were the most disadvantaged in accessing what little education there is available. 42. In meetings with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) officials, the independent expert learned that while UNICEF had committed to building some new schools last year, plans had been hampered by the insecurity and many of the schools which had been operational had been closed due to the insecurity. 43. UNICEF representatives also confirmed to the independent expert that the custom and practice of asi walid, where some parents enforced disciplinary action on their children by placing them in prison without due process continued. As a result, a very high number of children were housed with adult detainees and inmates, in gross violation of the human rights of the children. Despite his previous dialogues with TFG, “Somaliland” and “Puntland” officials, the independent expert learned that there had been little action to address these violations. 44. One positive child rights development was that the Child Justice Bill was making progress through the TFP and was expected to be passed in the coming months. During the independent expert’s meeting with (then) Prime Minister Gedi in Mogadishu, the latter agreed that Somalia must endeavour to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and that there should be monitoring and reporting instruments in place to support that ratification. 2 S/2007/259.