UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has put Russian forces on its annual blacklist of countries violating children’s rights in conflict because they are boys and girls, according to a new report published Thursday by The Associated Press killing and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the Security Council that he was “appalled” by the high number of “serious violations” against children in Ukraine in 2022, “shocked” by the number of attacks on schools and hospitals, and “concerned”. ” by the detention of children and “worried” that some Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia.
The UN chief did not blacklist Israel over serious violations of 1,139 Palestinian children, including 54 killings last year – as supporters had hoped.
Instead, he hailed Israel’s cooperation with the UN Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and her “identification of practical measures, including those proposed by the UN,” to protect children.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, told reporters that Guterres “made a huge mistake” in failing to list the most extreme government in Israel’s history.
“It is very disappointing for the Palestinian people and Palestinian children,” he said.
In the comprehensive report, the Secretary-General said that children have been disproportionately affected by conflict over the past year. He said the UN had identified serious violations of 13,469 children in 24 countries and one region, including 2,985 children killed.
The “serious violations” include the recruitment and use of youth by combatants, killings and injuries, sexual violence, kidnapping, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Guterres said the spread of conflict to new areas has contributed to a 140% increase in serious violations in Myanmar and a 135% increase in South Sudan. A surge in activity by armed groups, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State, also led to a significant deterioration in the situation in the central Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso, leading to an 85% increase in serious violations.
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Violations have also increased in Colombia, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria, the Secretary-General said.
While armed groups were responsible for 50% of serious violations, Guterres said government forces were mainly responsible for killing and maiming children, attacking schools and hospitals, and denying access for humanitarian aid.
The countries with the most proven violations are Congo, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Somalia and Syria, he said. In contrast, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and the Philippines saw a decrease in serious violations, and last year’s ceasefire in Yemen contributed to a 40% decrease in violations.
The report also lists two new countries of concern for children: Haiti and Niger.
Guterres said Russian forces and allied armed groups were on the list for carrying out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals and killing children, particularly through shelling and airstrikes on cities and towns. According to the report, 136 Ukrainian children were killed and 518 injured.
The Secretary-General called on the Russian armed forces to comply with their obligations under international law and their own obligations to protect children, including by avoiding military use of schools and hospitals, implementing accountability and redress measures, and sharing information with the United Nations all topics children in conflict zones.
Guterres also called on Russia to ensure that the personal status of Ukrainian children, including their nationality, does not change.
Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a problem since the invasion of Russia, and the International Criminal Court upped the pressure on Russia when it issued arrest warrants on March 17 against President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of kidnapping children from Of Ukraine.
The UN chief said he was also concerned about the number of serious violations against children by Ukrainian forces and urged them to abide by international law to protect civilians.
According to the report, Ukrainian forces were responsible for the deaths of 80 children and wounding 175 others, as well as 212 attacks on schools and hospitals.