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Grave violations surge for children in conflict   | | UN News


From Afghanistan to Yemen, and Syria to northern Ethiopia, UNICEF denounce serious violations against young people in both long-standing and new conflicts.

‘Dreadful contempt’

Last week, four children were reported among the victims of an attack that killed at least 35 people – including two Save children staff – in Kayah state in eastern Myanmar.

In a statement, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore speak that, year after year, “parties to the conflict continue to display appalling disregard for the rights and welfare of children“.


A young girl in the waiting room of a UNICEF-supported medical clinic in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

A young girl in the waiting room of a UNICEF-supported medical clinic in Kandahar, Afghanistan., By © UNICEF / Alessio Romenzi

“Children are suffering, and children are dying because of this callousness. Every effort must be made to keep these children safe from harm, she added.

New data

No data for this year is available yet, but the United Nations verified 26,425 serious violations against children in 2020.

The first three months of 2021 saw a slight decrease in the total number of these serious violations but Verified abductions and sexual violence continue to rise at an alarming rate – more than 50% and 10%, respectively.

Verified kidnappings are highest in Somalia, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the countries of the Lake Chad basin (Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger).

On the other hand, verified cases of sexual violence are highest in the DRC, Somalia and Central African Republic (CAR).

Looking back

This year marks a quarter of a century since the publication of Graça Machel .’s novel Impact of war on children report, calling on the UN and the international community to act.

Over the past 16 years, the UN has verified 266,000 cases of serious violations against children in more than 30 conflict situations across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

While these cases were verified through 2005 led by the UN Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, tAccording to UNICEF, his actual figure is most likely much higher.

Region

For example, Afghanistan has the highest number of verified child casualties since 2005. With more than 28,500 incidents, the country accounts for 27% of all verified child casualties globally.

Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa had the highest number of verified attacks on schools and hospitals, with 22 verified in the first six months of the year.

In October, UNICEF emphasize 10,000 children have been killed or wounded in Yemen since fighting escalated in March 2015 – the equivalent of four children a day.

The ‘unspeakable’ threat


A boy runs through the ruins of the Bab al-Aziziyah neighborhood in Tripoli, Libya.

A boy runs through the rubble of the Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli, Libya., By © UNICEF / Giovanni Diffidenti

UNICEF states that every day, “Girls and boys living in conflict zones endure indescribable horrors that no human being has to experience.. ”

One is the persistent and growing threat of explosive weapons, especially in densely populated areas.

In 2020, explosive weapons and war remnants are responsible for nearly 50% of all child casualties, resulting in more than 3,900 child deaths and disability.

Children often fall victim to serious rights violations.

Last year, for example, 37% of UN verified abductions result in the recruitment and use of children in war – pass 50% in Somalia, DRC and CAR.

A Call to Commitment

UNICEF is calling on all parties to the conflict to commit to formal action plans.

Since 2005, only 37 of such plans have been signed off by parties to the conflict, which UNICEF calls “a staggeringly low number given the contributions to children”.

“Ultimately, children living through war will only be safe when the parties to the conflict take concrete action to protect them and stop serious violations,” said Ms Fore.



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