The US is defending its imprisonment of some 500 youths in Iraq. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said it maintains what it calls an “extremely robust” program to look after detained children. The American Civil Liberties Union has accused the Bush administration of holding the youths in violation of international standards. The US has joined Somalia as the only states to refuse to ratify the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Around 2,500 youths have been jailed in US prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo since 2002.