A/HRC/40/45 33. Moreover, the task force verified 12 incidents of recruitment and use of children involving 35 boys (5 boys recruited by the Taliban, 17 by Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan, 7 by pro-government militias, 3 by the Afghan Local Police, 2 by ISIL-Khorasan Province and 1 by the Afghan National Police). The task force also documented credible allegations of recruitment and use of 16 boys (11 by the Taliban, 2 each by the Afghan Local Police and Afghan National Police and 1 jointly by the National Directorate of Security and the Taliban). 34. The task force verified 17 incidents of abduction, involving at least 42 boys (12 incidents by the Taliban involving 36 boys, 2 incidents by ISIL-Khorasan Province involving 3 boys, and 1 incident each by self-proclaimed ISIL, the Afghan Local Police and Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan involving 1 boy each). 35. The task force also verified four incidents of rape and sexual violence against boys and girls, three perpetrated by the Afghan National Police and one by the Afghan Local Police. These include a case of bacha bazi, a harmful practice whereby boys are exploited by wealthy or powerful men for entertainment, particularly dancing and sexual activities, and another case where a girl was used for the purpose of bacha bazi. The task force received allegations of other cases of sexual violence against children that could not be verified due to the sensitivities involved. For the same reason, such cases are often underreported; therefore, the figures probably do not reflect the extent of these incidents in the country. 36. During the reporting period, the task force verified 39 incidents of denial of humanitarian access, involving abductions, threats and intimidation, killing and injuring of humanitarian personnel and looting of humanitarian goods. The task force attributed 34 of those incidents to anti-government elements (24 to the Taliban, 9 to ISIL-Khorasan Province and 1 to undetermined anti-government elements) and 5 to pro-government forces (2 to pro-government militia, 1 each to the Afghan National Police and the National Directorate for Security, and 1 jointly to the National Directorate for Security and the Afghan National Police). 37. The task force noted further progress by the Ministry of Interior Affairs regarding the expansion of child protection units in the Afghan National Police recruitment centres, as the inauguration in Uruzgan and Nuristan provinces completed the establishment of these units in all 34 provinces. Through this mechanism, 327 underage applicants (325 boys and 2 girls) were prevented from enlisting in the ranks of the Afghan National Police, compared with 294 boys in 2017. 38. Joint efforts by UNAMA/OHCHR, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the task force led to the criminalization of bacha bazi in the revised Penal Code, which entered into force in February. The revised Penal Code further criminalizes the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and the falsification of tazkera (national identity card).5 39. In May, UNAMA/OHCHR submitted a special confidential report to the Government documenting the awareness and observations of Afghan communities on the prevalence of the recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict, and of the root causes and enabling factors driving such practices in Afghanistan. The report is based on an analysis of almost 700 interviews and monitoring conducted by UNAMA/OHCHR human rights teams between 15 October 2016 and 31 December 2017. It highlights that the practice of child recruitment and use is perceived as common in Afghanistan, with the Taliban reported to be the main perpetrators. Communities in all regions of Afghanistan further alleged the use of boys for sexual abuse, including bacha bazi, by armed forces, particularly the Afghan Local Police and Afghan National Police. 40. On 6 August, UNAMA/OHCHR convened an event with representatives of the Government, international military forces and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to discuss strategies for combating impunity for sexual violence against 5 Falsification of tazkera is a factor facilitating recruitment of children into the Afghan armed forces, particularly the Afghan Local Police. 7