United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres revealed that the international organization had documented more than 25,000 grave violations against children throughout the world in 2019.
Boys and girls used and abused in armed conflict have had their childhoods replaced by “pain, brutality and fear while the world watches,” UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba said on Monday.
Launching the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, Gamba maintained that parties to conflict often “neglect to protect children in the conduct of hostilities and deny them the vital aid they desperately need”.
The tragedy children face continued unabated throughout 2019, the report highlighted, disclosing that the UN had verified over 25,000 grave violations against children.
The overall number of grave violations, which remains similar to 2018, translates into some 70 recorded abuses per day.
“By violating the rules of war, parties endanger their own children,” she added.
Citing 4,400 verified incidents, the report revealed a shocking 400 percent jump in the denial of humanitarian access to children last year, which Gamba called “by far most worrisome trend in 2019”.
It also painted a picture of frequent violence against humanitarian workers, along with aggressions to impede their work in providing basic assistance to children, such as looting supplies and restricting movements, among many other disruptions.
The document spotlighted Yemen, Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), Syria, Israel and Palestine as the most worrying situations.
Disrespect shown to fundamental rights within schools and hospitals is also extremely concerning, particularly in in Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine and Syria where some 927 verified incidents of attacks were reported.
As a direct result of attacks, or closures for military use, millions of children during 2019 were deprived of both an education and effective healthcare.
“I call on all parties to conflict to immediately prioritize humanitarian access to children and vulnerable populations in situations of armed conflict, and to allow child protection experts and humanitarians to do their work,” Gamba pleaded.
Yemen
In Yemen, the report verified 4,042 grave violations against 2,159 children (1,708 boys, 451 girls). The Iran-backed Houthi militias were blamed for the recruitment and use of 686 children (643 boys, 43 girls). The UN verified the deprivation of liberty and/or detention of 97 boys between the ages of 12 and 16, by the Houthis. They were also held responsible for the killing of 395 and maiming of 1,052 children.
The Houthis were blamed for 15 attacks on schools and accused of using 35 for military uses. The report documented 1,553 incidents of the denial of humanitarian access by the Houthis.
Gamba welcomed the continued commitment of the Government of Yemen to protect conflict-affected children.
She also expressed her grave concern about “the rise in the overall number of grave violations, including the continued recruitment of children by parties to conflict, and in particular by the Houthis and the shrinking space for humanitarians in Yemen.”
Yemen’s Minister for Human Rights Mohammed Askar hailed the report, saying it acknowledged facts and the truth away from politicization.
It helped rectify the UN’s path in Yemen, he told Asharq Al-Awsat
He stressed that the government and Saudi-led Arab coalition’s efforts were clear in protecting the children of Yemen, adding that they have improved their precautions during any military operation in order to spare their lives.
In contrast, the Houthis have been bent on destroying childhood in Yemen, he remarked. He accused them of jeopardizing their lives through the arbitrary planting of landmines, brainwashing them with extremist and sectarian ideology, extorting their families in return for their recruitment and deploying them to the frontlines of the battles.
In a statement, the coalition said it welcomed Guterres’ decision to remove it from a UN blacklist after it was first accused of killing and injuring children in Yemen.
Guterres said in his annual report to the Security Council on Monday that the coalition would “be delisted for the violation of killing and maiming, following a sustained significant decrease in killing and maiming due to airstrikes” and the implementation of measures aimed at protecting children.
“The coalition takes any allegations of violations of civilians and children’s rights very seriously,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. “In order to investigate the allegations attributed to it in the report, the coalition invites the UN to share with the coalition the relevant information.”
