Ankara strongly slammed an update in the 2023 US Trafficking in Persons Report on Saturday that listed Türkiye as a country that uses child soldiers.
"It is regrettable that Türkiye’s significant efforts to prevent human trafficking have been disregarded by placing her in the list of child soldier recruiting states under the ‘Child Soldiers Prevention Act’ through an update of the 2023 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Türkiye is making every effort to prevent the crime of human trafficking, punish offenders and protect victims of the crime while maintaining its activities in an uninterrupted manner towards further strengthening bilateral, regional and international cooperation to this end," it said.
Human rights is once again being politicized in the report, it said.
"We categorically reject all allegations of children recruitment attributed to our country who is party to all international documents on the protection of children's rights including those adopted within the framework of the United Nations and meticulously implements them," it said.
"Before attempting such a defamation against Türkiye, it would be anticipated from the U.S., who provides military and financial support to the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, which forcibly recruits children for terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq, to face its own reality. This case also raises serious questions about the objectivity of the information sources on which the US authorities base their decisions. This slander, which does not bode well with the spirit of alliance, will be duly responded," it said.
