New York – Together – The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, blacklisted Israeli military and security forces in his annual report on children and armed conflict, for committing acts of killing and maiming of children and other violations against them.
The annual report, which covers the past year, said that violence against children in armed conflicts, in 2023, reached very high levels with a 21 percent increase in physical violations, as children bore the burden of the increase and escalation of crises that were marred by complete disregard for children’s rights, especially the right to life.
The killing and maiming of children increased by 35 percent, while the number of children killed and maimed reached an unprecedented level, during the devastating crises in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory – especially the Gaza Strip – and other regions, including Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Myanmar.
These reports are issued by th
e members of the Security Council, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to submit annual reports based on a well-established methodology on children and armed conflicts. These reports are accompanied by a list that includes states that have committed violations against children in the context of conflicts, and another list that includes non-state parties committing violations.
It is noteworthy that, for the first time since the beginning of the issuance of these annual reports, the Secretary-General includes Israeli military and security forces on the list attached to the report for committing acts of killing and maiming of children and launching attacks on schools and hospitals.
The report stated that the conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories resulted in grave violations against children on an unprecedented scale and severity, and hostilities led to an increase in these violations by 155 percent. In his report, the Secretary-General urged Israel to sign an action plan with t
he United Nations to end and prevent the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Source: Maan News Agency