Latest news with #childrenInConflict
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Children in armed conflict: UN reports 25% jump in violations in 2024
A UN report says children in conflict zones fell victim to unprecedented levels of violence last year. Tens of thousands of them were affected by armed conflict, with many of them recruited, maimed, violated or killed in more than 20 countries. In Asia, most cases were recorded in Myanmar.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Children suffered record levels of violence in conflict zones in 2024, UN report shows
A record number of children were subjected to acts of violence in conflict zones in 2024, with the number of incidents recorded rising by 25%, according to a UN report. The UN security council's annual report on children and armed conflict found 22,495 children in 2024 were killed, wounded, denied humanitarian support or recruited for conflict. It highlighted a 44% rise in attacks on schools and 35% rise in sexual violence against children. 'This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return,' said Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the UN secretary general for children and armed conflict. 'Children living amid hostilities are being stripped of their childhood. Instead of recognising the special protection afforded to children, governments and armed groups around the world blatantly ignore international law that defines a child as anyone under 18.' The report verified 41,370 incidents of violations against children – including 5,149 that occurred earlier but were only verified in 2024 – with 4,856 in Gaza, primarily carried out by the Israeli security forces, including killings, injuries and the denial of permits for medical treatment. It verified 22 cases of Palestinian boys being used by Israeli forces as human shields in Gaza and five in the occupied West Bank. It also highlighted rises in violence against children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The number of incidents was the highest since the UN began verifying reports in 1996. The report also said there was an increase in the number of children suffering multiple violations, from 2,684 in 2023 to 3,137 in 2024, especially in cases where abductions, recruitment and sexual violence converged. 'To normalise this level of violence against children is to accept the dismantling of our collective humanity. The level of alarm is unprecedented. Governments must act immediately to turn the tide of grief, trauma and loss borne by children,' said Helen Pattinson, CEO of War Child UK. Of more than 4,000 incidents recorded in DRC, more than half involved children being recruited by armed groups. There was also a 35% rise in sexual violence against children in 2024, with almost 2,000 cases. More than a quarter were recorded in Haiti, with 406 cases of rape and 160 involving gang rape. There were 419 cases of sexual violence in Nigeria, 358 in DRC and 267 in Somalia. The report said it was concerned by the 'dramatic' rise in gang rape and the abduction of girls for sexual slavery, which it said highlighted how sexual violence against children was being used as a weapon of war. Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said sexual violence 'must be treated with the same gravity as guns and bombs'. 'Sexual violence against children in conflict is a crime which once took place in the shadows but is now more and more becoming used as an overt tactic of war,' said Ashing. 'No one should have to endure the pain and humiliation of rape and sexual exploitation and violence, and it is particularly deplorable when a child is subjected to this brutality.'
Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel again included in UN blacklist for grave violations against children
The United Nations has kept Israel on its 'blacklist' of countries committing abuses against children in armed conflict for a second straight year, as its war on Gaza continues for nearly 20 months. The listing on Thursday came as the UN said in a new report that violence against children in conflict zones reached 'unprecedented levels' in 2024, with the highest number of violations committed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank by the Israeli army. The annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed 'a staggering' 25 percent surge globally in grave violations against children below the age of 18 last year from 2023. It said it had verified 41,370 grave violations against children, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals. Among them were 8,554 grave violations against 2,959 children – 2,944 Palestinian, 15 Israeli – in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. The figure includes confirmation of 1,259 Palestinian children killed and 941 wounded in Gaza, which has come under relentless Israeli bombardment following an attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported much higher figures, and the UN said it is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024 in the besieged territory. The UN said it has also verified the killing of 97 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, where a total of 3,688 violations were recorded. The report also called out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was 'appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel', citing the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Guterres also reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between fighters and civilians and avoid excessive harm to innocent people. There was no immediate comment by Israel's UN mission. The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, and the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, were also included in the blacklist for a second time. Following the Palestinian territory, the countries where the UN registered the most violence against children in 2024 were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (more than 4,000 grave violations); Somalia (more than 2,500); Nigeria (nearly 2,500); and Haiti (more than 2,200). The sharpest percentage increase in the number of violations was recorded in Lebanon (545 percent), followed by Mozambique (525 percent), Haiti (490 percent), Ethiopia (235 percent), and Ukraine (105 percent), it added.
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Gaza the worst as violence against children hit ‘unprecedented levels' in 2024, UN says
Violence against children caught in multiple and escalating conflicts reached 'unprecedented levels' last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti, according to a United Nations report released late Thursday. 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.
Al Arabiya
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Violence against children hit ‘unprecedented levels' in 2024: UN
From Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence against children in conflict zones reached 'unprecedented levels' in 2024, a United Nations annual report said Thursday. 'In 2024, violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels, with a staggering 25 percent surge in the number of grave violations in comparison with 2023,' according to the report from UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres. The report verified 41,370 grave violations against children in 2024 – including 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed previously but confirmed in 2024 – the highest number since the monitoring tool was established nearly 30 years ago. The new high beats 2023, another record year, which itself represented a 21 percent increase over the preceding year. With more than 4,500 killed and 7,000 injured, children continue to bear 'the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks,' the report said. There was also a marked increase in the number of child victims of multiple violations to 22,495. 'The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball – but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings – should keep all of us awake at night,' said Virginia Gamba, special representative of the UN secretary‑general for children and armed conflict. 'This must serve as a wake‑up call. We are at the point of no return.' In its annual report, the UN compiles violations of the rights of children, those aged under 18, in some 20 conflict zones around the world. In its appendix, a 'list of shame' calls out those responsible for these violations – a powerful coalition of Haitian gangs was added this year – which include child killings and mutilations, recruitment to violence, kidnappings, denial of humanitarian aid, and sexual violence. The Israeli armed forces, which were named last year along with Palestinian militant group Hamas, remain on the list. The Palestinian territories occupy the top spot in the dismal rankings, with more than 8,500 serious violations, the vast majority attributed to Israeli forces, including more than 4,800 in the Gaza Strip. This figure includes confirmation of 1,259 Palestinian children killed in Gaza, and the UN notes it is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024 in the war‑torn territory. Violence erupted there following Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The report also calls out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year. Following the Palestinian territories, the countries where the UN recorded the most violence against children in 2024 are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (more than 4,000 grave violations), Somalia (more than 2,500), Nigeria (nearly 2,500), and Haiti (more than 2,200). 'List of shame' inductees include Haitian gang coalition Viv Ansanm, blamed for a 490 percent increase in violations, including child recruitment, murders, and gang rapes. Another addition to the list is Colombian drug cartel Clan del Golfo, which is accused of child recruitment. Colombia in general recorded a significant increase in cases of forced recruitment, with 450 children in 2024 compared to 262 the previous year. Remaining on the list are the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting in Sudan for more than two years. Also listed again is the Russian army for its actions in Ukraine, where the report records a 105 percent increase in serious violations between 2023 and 2024.
