[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] on Friday addressed the challenges [statement] of upholding the fundamental rights of children in war zones, stating that protecting children is a “moral imperative and legal obligation.” The Secretary-General spoke on the issue during an open debate on children and armed conflict which addressed the issue of increasing mass child abductions. Ban said that grave violations against children constitute “an affront to our common humanity” in the Central African Republic, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic. He also expressed deep alarm at the suffering of many children a a result of Israeli military operations in Gaza last year, urging Israel to take firm and immediate steps to protect and prevent the killing and maiming of children. In focusing on child abduction, Ban stated, “Abduction is now being used as a tactic to terrorize or target particular ethnic groups or religious communities, and children have been a particular focus.” He called on Member States to “pursue all avenues” to protect children impacted by armed conflict, saying that children have the right to be protected in their schools, homes and communities.

The UN has repeatedly expressed concern for the treatment of children in conflict areas over the years. In February the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a report [JURIST report] stating that members of the Islamic State (IS) are abducting Iraqi children and engaging in serious human rights abuses. In December the UN Children’s Fund issued a press release [JURIST report] declaring 2014 “a devastating year for children,” citing the 15 million children affected by violent conflicts in the Central Africal Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Ukraine. In July a UN issued report said [JURIST report] that children continued to be victims of violence and military recruitment in 23 conflict zones around the world in 2013, with Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui calling Syria “one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child.” Last June Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] claimed [JURIST report] that teenagers as young as 15 have been recruited by armed groups in Syria with some becoming suicide bombers. Earlier that month the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed war crimes charges against Congolese general Bosco Ntanga including the recruitment of child soldiers.