New York  - Human Rights Watch charged Wednesday that Iran had executed 26 of the 32 children put to death by states since January 2005, followed by smaller numbers executed by Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan and Yemen.

The executions, meted out as punishment for crimes, violated international treaties prohibiting the execution of juvenile offenders, the human rights group said.

The other executions were carried out by Saudi Arabia, which executed two youths under 18, Sudan with two and one execution each in Pakistan and Yemen.

The group said if those five countries would end the practice of executing youths under 18, they would help implement the ban on juvenile death penalty.

"We are only five states away from a complete ban on the juvenile death penalty," said Clarisa Bencomo, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in the Middle East. "These few holdouts should abandon this barbaric practice so that no one ever again is executed for a crime committed as a child."

Another 100 children were on death row awaiting results of judicial appeals or negotiations for pardons in exchange for financial compensation, the group found.

The rights group called on governments that will meet in the UN General Assembly's 63rd session beginning next week to commit to protecting the rights of children accused of criminal offenses.

Human Rights Watch said in a 20-page report, "The Last Holdouts: Ending the Juvenile Death Penalty in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen," that executing children is "barbaric practice."

Human Rights Watch said most states in the world have complied with treaties banning the execution of children, including the United States and China. (dpa)