Gaza the worst as violence against children hit ‘unprecedented levels' in 2024, UN says
Advertisement
Secretary General Antonio Guterres' annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed 'a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations' against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent.
In 2024, the UN chief said: 'Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises'.
He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and 'the systematic exploitation of children for combat'.
A Palestinian girl runs past the ruins of destroyed buildings along the Gaza City shoreline. Photo: AP
Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children - 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Israel to move Palestinians to southern Gaza ahead of new offensive
Gaza residents will be provided with tents and other shelter equipment starting from Sunday ahead of relocating them from combat zones to the south of the enclave 'to ensure their safety', the Israeli military said on Saturday. This comes days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave's largest urban centre, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Sunday said that before launching the offensive, the civilian population will be evacuated to what he described as 'safe zones' from Gaza City, which he called Hamas' last stronghold. The shelter equipment will be transferred via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza by the United Nations and other international relief organisations after being inspected by defence ministry personnel, the military said. A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed concern over Israel's plans to relocate people to southern Gaza, saying it would only increase suffering. But the UN body welcomed Israel's recognition that shelter is a desperate need and that tents and other shelter equipment will be allowed again into Gaza. 'The UN and its partners will seize the opportunity this opens,' the spokesperson said.
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US stops all visitor visas for people from Gaza
The US State Department on Saturday said it was halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts 'a full and thorough' review. The department said 'a small number' of temporary medical-humanitarian visas had been issued in recent days but did not provide a figure. The US issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document, according to an analysis of monthly figures provided on the department's website. That figure includes 640 visas issued in May. The State Department's move to stop visitor visas for people from Gaza comes after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and an ally of US President Donald Trump, said on social media on Friday that the Palestinian 'refugees' had entered the country this month. Play Loomer's statement sparked outrage among some Republicans, with congressman Chip Roy, of Texas, saying he would inquire about the matter and congressman Randy Fine, of Florida, describing it as a 'national security risk'.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia accused of ‘blocking progress' on plastics as it sides with oil giants at UN
But the summit was thrown into disarray as a coalition of oil‑producing states determined to block binding limits on plastic output – with which Malaysia was controversially aligned – saw negotiations stretched into an unscheduled eleventh day without agreement. The Geneva talks, billed as the 'Paris Agreement for plastics' in reference to the 2016 deal on climate change, were due to conclude on Thursday after 10 days of marathon sessions involving 185 countries, but were abruptly adjourned with barely 23 minutes of the day remaining. The talks ended on Friday with no consensus on a last-ditch proposal aimed at breaking the deadlock. Delegates at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva react on Thursday as talks on a plastic pollution treaty extend into an unscheduled eleventh day. Photo: EPA Delegates described scenes of confusion and frustration in the UN's Palais des Nations assembly hall. 'It's such a mess. I've never seen that,' said Aleksandar Rankovic of The Common Initiative think tank on Thursday. 'The room is very discontented.' At the heart of the impasse was a deep rift between two coalitions: the so-called High Ambition Coalition – led by the European Union, the UK, Canada and several African and Latin American nations – which pushed for binding measures to cut plastic production and phase out toxic additives; and the 'Like‑Minded Group' of mostly oil‑producing states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran and Malaysia, which wanted the treaty to focus on waste management rather than production caps. Greenpeace Malaysia's Weng Dun Xin accused the country, one of Southeast Asia's largest plastics producers, of 'blocking progress on purpose' by aligning itself with the oil giants, adding that it had come under pressure from the fossil fuel and petrochemicals industry, whose representatives were 'strongly present' in Geneva. People in boats collect plastic waste from a heavily polluted river in Bandung, Indonesia, last year. Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia's largest plastic producers. Photo: AFP Malaysia's US$3.89 billion plastics market is projected to grow to US$4.71 billion by 2029, according to the Malaysian Petrochemicals Association. Exports were worth 17.3 billion ringgit (US$4 billion) in 2022, up almost 9 per cent from the previous year. Critics say the government's stance reflects a desire to protect this lucrative sector.
