Virginia Gamba Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict announced Latest Annual Report of the Secretary Generalfor 2022, showing a total of 27,180 serious violations, an increase from the previous year.
Recorded violations refer only to verified information, can amount to much higher, and include four categories: recruitment and use of children into armed groups or forces, homicide and mutilation, rape and sexual violence, and abduction.
Two-thirds of the offenses involved boys, spanning 24 different conflict situations. A total of 8,831 children were killed or disabled, and another 7,622 were recruited by armed groups or forces.
worst crime
Ms. Gamba told journalists at a press conference in New York that countries record highest number of violations are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Israel, the State of Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Yemen.
“Monitoring and verifying serious violations” still extremely difficultincluding access restrictions resulting in underreporting of such violations and an increase in verified violations by 2022,” according to the report.
Countries where “the worst recession” happens to be Myanmar, South Sudan and Burkina Faso.
A child eats food in a camp for evacuees in North Kivu province after fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Schools and hospitals
had 1,163 attacks on schools were recorded and 647 attacks on hospitalss – an increase of 112 percent, the report said.
The widespread use of schools by the armed forces and armed groups for military purposes is a “very worrying trend,’ Ms Gamba said, calling on them to maintain a “peace zone”.
Nearly 2,500 children have been detained, a practice that “should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest possible time”, she added.
Russia added to crime list
Ms. Gamba said that Russian forces and related armed groups in Ukraine were added to the report’s addendum as a notable offender, given the number of attacks on hospitals and schools carried out. shown in the invasion and murder of children in military operations.
She said that Russia’s use of missile systems, air strikes and artillery shelling on populated areas had resulted in “very high casualties”, adding that her engagement with Moscow to deliver Measures to mitigate attacks will continue.
She said that the Ukrainian armed forces had also received a warning from the UN Secretary-General through the report due to the attacks carried out on schools and hospitals during the war.
Emphasizing that even defensive responses need to be in line with international humanitarian law, she commended the progress the Government of Ukraine has made to improve.
Israel, Palestine are not added
The Special Representative said Israel and the State of Palestine would not be added to the global list of violators, stressing that the warning not to repeat the urban attack on Gaza in May 2021 and the rocket launches. retaliatory fire was fully noticed.
She said there was a “important reduction” in Israeli airstrikes in 2022, noting that the whole purpose of publishing the report and highlighting the violence is to change behavior and increase protection.
However, she expressed concern about continued high levels of violence in the West Bank and other occupied territories so far this year.
Among those added to the crime list are armed groups in the DRC including M23, Mai-Mai Zaire and CODECO. Two Burkina Faso NGO actors were also added.
Ms. Gamba also highlighted the addition of Myanmar’s military rulers, which are listed as attacking schools and hospitals, saying that “they sit with five violations“.
In addition, she indicated two situations – in Haiti and Niger – is a growing interest in her office.
