Iraq excludes 45,000 children born during IS rule

LONDON, Apr 30 (AP): An estimated 45,000 children in Iraq who were born under the rule of the Islamic State group are being excluded from society because the government denies them documentation and ID papers, an international charity said on Tuesday.

Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council's secretary general, is warning that these children - most of whom are in camps for the displaced today - are a "possible human time-bomb."

"Undocumented children risk remaining left on the margins of society if this issue is not addressed immediately. This seriously undermines future prospects of reconciliation efforts," said Egeland.

"We urge the government to ensure that undocumented children have the right to exist like any other Iraqi citizen," he added, citing the organization's 38-page report "Barriers from Birth."

The children were born during IS's 2013-2017 rule, when the militant group controlled nearly a third of Iraq. The Iraqi government today considers their birth certificates invalid because they were issued by IS.