UN Report Decries Conflict-Related Crimes Against Children

The United Nations' annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, released Monday, details the devastating impact of different forms of conflict on children worldwide in 2021.

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The report confirmed the recruitment and use of 6 310 children in conflicts worldwide in 2021. Abduction, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of aid are other reported violations.

Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories accounted for the highest number of verified violations against children. 

On the conflict in Ukraine, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, said that the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals are the two most problematic violations.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said next year's report would include verified violations against children in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Mozambique. He said that UN officials would investigate the killing and injury of children in those nations. 

The Children and Armed Conflict report include a blacklist aimed at shaming those involved in conflict to pressure them to enforce child protection measures.

According to the report, Israel, which has never been on the blacklist, is to blame for the killing of 78 Palestinian children, the maiming of 982 others, and the detention of 637 in 2021. Amid this scenario, Guterres said Israel should be listed if the situation remains unchanged in 2022, without noticeable relief.

As for the Saudi-led coalition, delisted in 2020, the report claims it is responsible for killing and maiming 100 children last year in Yemen. Guterres said Yemen had seen a steady decline in child casualties by the Saudi-led coalition.