UN Warns of Shockingly High Violations against Children in Armed Conflicts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United Nations has warned that violations against children in armed conflicts remain at a "shockingly high level," as the international community aims to prevent further tragedies.
Virginia Gamba, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special representative for children and armed conflict, highlighted the alarming levels of violations that children face, such as abductions, killing and maiming, recruitment for use in armed conflicts, and the denial of humanitarian access in conflict zones, Anadolu Agency reported.
The UN verified nearly 24,000 "grave violations" in 2021, and Gamba expects these numbers to remain high.
She stressed the need to identify pre-existing risks and vulnerabilities to children to prevent violations of their rights during conflicts. Children who lack education and future prospects for their livelihoods and face poverty are at the greatest risk of being forcibly recruited by armed groups or subjected to gender-based violence.
Despite progress, violations against children "continue to be committed on an alarming scale," according to a note circulated by Malta, which chairs the Security Council for the month of February.
"Effective prevention of violence requires a strategic and proactive approach at the community, national, subregional, regional, and global levels that address all the risks and stresses the factors that provide protection against the continuum of violence, with a view to effectively protecting every conflict-affected child," it said.