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children in armed conflict
Those Who Violate the Rights of Children in War Must Be Held Accountable
When this does not happen, it signals that no one is safe, that the agreements we’ve made in global fora like the U.N. will not protect anyone, especially not the most vulnerable.
Jun 25, 2024
This week, the United Nations will hold an open debate on violations of children in wartime, and while this topic would seem morally clear, the debate is sure to be contentious. Earlier this month, with the
U.N. Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, the armed forces of Israel, as well as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, join the armed forces of and armed groups in Russia, Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan as documented perpetrators of grave violations of the rights of children. In nearly 33,000 documented incidents, children were killed, starved, maimed, kidnapped, and recruited as soldiers in more than two dozen war zones.
The secretary-general’s annual report and its annexed list of perpetrators, the so-called “ list of shame,” have served as a unique and largely effective tool for identifying perpetrators and pressuring them to end violations and protect children in times of war. The report’s impact and credibility rely on applying the same standards to all parties across all armed conflicts. Protecting children from war should not be subject to political considerations. And yet, in this week’s debate perpetrators and their allies will surely disagree about the inclusion of parties that have harmed or killed children in war.
As a full-time advocate working for accountability for violations against the rights of children, I can say the global situation for children in conflict has never looked more dire. The U.N. secretary-general has recently reported that the proportion of children killed in 2023 tripled as compared with 2022, with 40% of global killings of children happening in Gaza. Leading child protection organizations have documented that 468 million children (or more than 1 in 6 children globally) live in areas affected by armed conflict. There has also never been the same level of witness to violations committed against the rights of children. Intense, bold campaigns in the news and on social media have captured the engagement and compassion of millions of people outside of war zones, resulting in calls for increased aid, intervention, and cease-fire.
The suffering and death of children in war—from the kidnapping of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas by Hamas, to the 46 Ukrainian children placed for adoption in Russia, to the Palestinian children with their names written in ink on their bodies so they can be identified when they die—have been incredibly brutal.
Parties involved in armed conflict must respect and ensure respect for international law, particularly international humanitarian law and international human rights law. This means not recruiting children, not subjecting them to sexual violence, not torturing them, not bombing hospitals or schools, and not creating famine. These frameworks do not consist of mere guidelines but binding commitments signed by states designed to protect individuals affected by armed conflict, including children. Violations of international law should not be tolerated—not by other states, not by the U.N. Security Council, and not by the citizens living in countries that are party to these laws.
Accountability efforts must be strengthened. This includes both political and financial efforts at domestic and international levels. Cases of universal jurisdiction have been undertaken for war crimes in third countries, but this has had a limited impact on crimes committed against children. States can do more, bringing those responsible before justice. When states and armed groups are not held accountable, it signals that no one is safe, that the agreements we’ve made in global fora like the U.N. will not protect anyone, especially not the most vulnerable. This inevitably impacts global cooperation. Diplomats are recalled, trade agreements become tenuous, travel between nations is discouraged or prohibited.
As the director of a network of organizations working to protect children from the effects of war, I must note that the work to protect children is cross-cutting. Addressing the problems faced by children in war requires a holistic approach that integrates child protection into all humanitarian and development efforts. The international aid community should consider the impact of its work on children first and collaborate across disciplines to adopt strategies that address the needs of children. By viewing child protection through this integrative lens, these organizations can create more effective and sustainable solutions, enabling more children to survive war.
The suffering and death of children in war—from the kidnapping of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas by Hamas, to the 46 Ukrainian children placed for adoption in Russia, to the Palestinian children with their names written in ink on their bodies so they can be identified when they die—have been incredibly brutal. But until we begin to meaningfully hold accountable those who commit these grave violations, naming and shaming and engaging with parties to armed conflict will remain among the best tools we have for perpetrators to change their behaviors.
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Armed Attacks on Schools and Hospitals in Conflict Zones Up 112% Last Year: UN
More than 8,800 children were killed or maimed in wars and other violence around the world in what a top U.N. official called another "dire" year for minors caught up in conflict.
Jun 27, 2023
There were more than 1,100 recorded armed attacks on schools and hospitals around the world last year—more than double the number reported in 2021—according to an annual report on children in wars and other conflicts published Tuesday by the office of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
This year's Children and Armed Conflict Conflict report counts 8,831 children killed or injured in wars and other violence, with another 7,622 minors recruited by or forced to join armed groups.
The publication states there were 27,180 "grave violations" involving children in 24 different "conflict situations" last year, including 1,163 attacks on schools and hospitals—a 112% increase from 2021.
"The countries recording the highest number of violationswere the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Israel, the state of Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Yemen," according to the report.
The report said Myanmar, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso experienced the worst deterioration in regard to violations against children last year, while Haiti and Niger warrant growing concern.
The publication noted 3,377 U.N.-verified violations against or involving children in the DRC last year, nearly half of which involved recruitment by anti-government rebel groups.
"Many children growing up in the DRC are living through the toughest experiences imaginable," Greg Ramm, DRC country director for U.K.-based Save the Children, said in a statement.
"Every day children are experiencing harrowing violations against their rights. They've watched their homes and schools be destroyed," Ramm added. "Armed groups force their friends and family members into armed recruitment, and many have survived sexual and gender-based violence, abuse, and abductions."
Russia was added to the global "list of shame" this year due to its armed forces and allies killing or maiming 1,386 children during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine—which was left off the list even though its homeland-defending military killed or wounded 255 minors.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Israel—whose forces killed or injured nearly 1,000 children last year—and Palestine were also left off the "list of shame."
U.N. Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba said there had been an "important decrease" in Israeli airstrikes during 2022, which critics said was only due to the fact that there was no full-scale Israeli war on Gaza last year like there was in 2021, when 67 minors were among the 256 Palestinians killed during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
However, Gamba voiced concerns over Israeli attacks in the illegally occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as violations committed by Palestinian militants resisting or retaliating against Israeli forces.
"Israel's continued omission from the list of shame does a grave disservice to Palestinian children," Jo Becker, advocacy director for children at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Tuesday. "The secretary-general's continued unwillingness to hold Israeli forces accountable for massive violations puts many children at risk."
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UN Chief Ripped for Leaving Israel Off Child-Killing 'List of Shame'
"From 2015-2020, the U.N. attributed over 6,700 child casualties to Israeli forces. He has just verified 975 more in 2022," said one human rights campaigner. "Yet he still omits Israel."
Jun 23, 2023
Human rights defenders on Thursday condemned United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' omission of Israel from a "list of shame" of countries that kill and injure children during wars and other armed conflict.
The Secretary-General Office's annual Children and Armed Conflict report—which is likely to be released publicly on June 30, according to one U.N. official—reportedly leaves Israel off the list of grave violators who harm children, despite Israeli forces' killing and wounding over 1,000 Palestinian minors over the past two years. The report states that 42 Palestinian children were killed and 933 others wounded by Israeli forces in 2022 alone.
Yet, according to one journalist who saw the report, Guterres noted "a meaningful decrease in the number of children killed by Israeli forces, including by airstrikes," in 2022.
That's because Israel conducted a major bombing campaign against Gaza in 2021 in which 67 children were among the 256 Palestinians killed. The report says Israeli forces killed a total of 78 children in 2021.
Guterres did say that "I remain deeply concerned by the number of children killed and maimed by Israeli forces" and by Israel's "use of live ammunition during law enforcement operations" as well "the persistent lack of accountability for these violations."
Noting that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the West Bank in 15 years, Jo Becker, advocacy director for children at Human Rights Watch, said Guterres' "unwillingness year after year to hold Israeli forces accountable for their grave violations against children has backfired, only emboldening Israeli forces to use unlawful lethal force against Palestinian children."
"From 2015-2020, the U.N. attributed over 6,700 child casualties to Israeli forces. He has just verified 975 more in 2022. Yet he still omits Israel from his 'list of shame,'" Becker tweeted.
Criticism of the Children in Armed Conflict report comes after seven Palestinians including two children—Ahmed Youssef Saqr and Sadeel Ghassan Naghniyeh Turkman, both 15 years old—died during and after a Monday raid by Israeli troops on the Jenin refugee camp in the illegally occupied West Bank. Turkman, who was shot in the head while recording the raid, succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday.
Another Palestinian child, 15-year-old Ashraf Morad Mahmoud Al-Sa'di, was killed Wednesday in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in which he was traveling north of Jenin, according to the charity Defense for Children International-Palestine.
Palestinian journalist Leila Warah discussed the youths' killings in a video for Mondoweiss:
Last year, Guterres said he was "shocked by the number of children killed and maimed by Israeli forces during hostilities, in airstrikes on densely populated areas, and through the use of live ammunition during law enforcement operations," declaring that "should the situation repeat itself in 2022 without meaningful improvement," Israel should be included on the blacklist.
"The secretary-general's threat to add Israeli forces and Palestinian groups to his 'list of shame' created an expectation that they would finally be held accountable," said Ezequiel Heffes, director of the Watchlist on Children in Armed Conflict—which has recommended Israel's inclusion on the "list of shame" every year since 2017.
"Although the mechanism has proven effective in changing warring parties' behaviors and strengthening protections for children in other conflicts, by failing to follow through on the threatened listing with Israel and Palestinian groups, he sends a message that they can continue committing grave violations against children without consequences."
The Children in Armed Confict analysis reportedly notes that Palestinian resistance forces—who are not on the "list of shame"—killed or maimed more than 100 children in 2022.
"If you do not list this government now, when will you list the Israeli government?"
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour on Thursday called the omission of Israel from Guterres' list "very disappointing to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian children."
"The secretary-general made a big mistake in not listing this current Israeli government," Mansour said during a press conference. "This is the most extreme government, loaded with fascist elements. If you do not list this government now, when will you list the Israeli government? It's very unfortunate that he selected not to list them."
Israel isn't the only controversial omission from the list. While human rights advocates welcomed Russia's inclusion—the report directly attributes 136 child deaths to Russian and affiliated forces—some asked why Ukraine, whose homeland defenders killed 80 children last year according to the publication, was left off.
Saudi Arabia was removed from the list in 2020 even though it continues to lead an eight-year U.S.-backed coalition intervention in Yemen's civil war which UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, says has killed more than 11,000 children.
"The U.N. needs to hold to account all governments, no matter how powerful, for their violations," Becker asserted Thursday.
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