UN Secretary-General António Guterres released his annual report on children and armed conflict on Tuesday, unveiling a surge in grave violations committed against children in armed conflict zones when compared to preceding years. The report exclusively highlights that 27,180 grave violations that have been verified through evidence. However, it warns that there are likely numerous additional violations beyond the evidence obtained, and the gravity of these transgressions is unknown.
The report categorized the grave violations against children into various domains, including but not limited to the exploitation of children in armed conflicts, instances of homicide, mutilation, sexual abuse and abductions. The majority of these violations predominantly impacted boys, with 8,630 children losing their lives and 7,622 being exploited in the context of military conflicts. An additional 1,166 suffered from sexual violence and 3,985 were abducted.
According to UN investigator Virginia Gamba, the most substantial concentration of violations has been observed in the persisting conflict zones in Ukraine, Syria, Palestine and Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen. These regions are all presently susceptible to hostilities, exacerbating the risks faced by children.
In reference to educational and healthcare facilities, there has been a substantial escalation in attacks targeting facilities, with the number surpassing double what was previously recorded. Over the past year, the report documented 1,846 such incidents, with 1,193 school attacks and 653 hospital attacks. The special investigator attributes this concerning trend to the growing practice of utilizing such establishments as military installations.
Gamba emphasized the necessity of giving particular attention to Russia, which has been cited in this report as one of the prominent nations responsible for the destruction of schools and hospitals, as well as the loss of children’s lives in the bombing of Ukraine. Russian forces apparently alerted Ukrainian authorities of their plans to target occupied schools and hospital structures. Gamba praised Ukraine’s responsiveness to and willingness to engage in constructive bilateral negotiations to address the situation.
Regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine, the UN investigator observed a decline in child fatalities throughout 2022. However, it remains a year marked by significant levels of lethality within the broader civilian population. Earlier this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the recent spike in tensions along the West Bank.
The special representative responsible for the publication and formulation of this report explicitly acknowledged the inherent challenges associated with gathering information from military sites. Because of this, the report faced an underreporting issue, as certain data was unable to be reliably verified.
That said, based on the information that was obtained, the report issued several recommendations. Among them were suggestions to strengthen parties involved in conflict so as to encourage compliance with international law regarding children. The report also suggested increased monitoring and reporting support from the Security Council on the issue.
