A new United Nations report indicates that more than 15,500 children worldwide have been victims of widespread violations in conflict situations.
These children have been exposed to “shocking levels” of violations such as killings and mutilations, recruitment and use for armed purposes, and denial of humanitarian access.
According to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, presented Thursday to the Security Council, children from countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen have suffered an unacceptable level of violations by parties to the conflict – both government forces and non-state armed groups.
“The tragic fate of children affected by conflicts cannot and should not leave us indifferent,” said Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict. “A child killed, recruited as a soldier, injured in an attack, or prevented from going to school due to conflict is already one child too many.”
Of the 20 countries reviewed in the report, at least 4,000 verified violations were committed by government forces and over 11,500 by non-state armed groups. Afghanistan recorded the highest number of verified child casualties since the UN began documenting civilian casualties in 2009, with 3,512 children killed or injured last year – a 24% increase from the previous year.
The report also identified 851 verified cases (more than double the number in 2015) of children recruited and used for combat purposes in Syria and 1,915 in Somalia in 2016. It also noted that at least 1,340 children were killed or injured in Yemen. In Syria, this number was 1,299.
“The scale of violations leaves the UN chief ‘horrified’,” said Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, reiterating his appeal to parties in conflict to respect their responsibility to protect children in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights.
“The goal of the report is not only to raise awareness of child rights violations but also to promote measures that can reduce the tragic fate of children in conflict,” said the UN chief’s spokesperson in a statement.
“The Secretary-General is encouraged by the fact that several governments and non-state actors are working with the United Nations towards this goal. He hopes that more will follow suit,” the spokesperson added.
The violations mentioned in the report include the recruitment or use of children for conflict, the murder or mutilation of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals, and the abduction of children in situations of armed conflict.
The parties responsible for these violations are listed in the annexes of the report, which also include those that have implemented measures to improve the protection of children during the period under review and those that have not taken adequate measures.
Press release issued by the Special Representative at the time of the report’s publication (in English) Report of the Secretary-General on the plight of children in times of armed conflict
This text is a modified version of an article published by the United Nations News Centre
