According to the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, children caught up in warfare are being taught to commit war crimes before they can count. The ambassador said this, citing the bloodiest attack in Burkina Faso in years, which killed more than 130 civilians, largely 12- to 14-year-olds.
Violations against children across the world
Linda Thomas-Greenfield has been an American diplomat for nearly four decades. During her time as an ambassador, she reveals that she has met many victims of conflict in Burkina Faso. Linda Thomas-Greedfeld told the U.N. Security Council that many of those killed in the attacks were youngsters. She added that the terrifying raid on the village of Solhan in the Sahel’s Yagha region saw children killing children.
Thomas-Greenfield disclosed to the U.N Security Council that she met kids who told her stories that no child should be able to recount. According to her, some kids spoke of attackers conscripting them at gunpoint. Others spoke of attackers raping or forcing them to murder their own parents or siblings. The ambassador said some of these kids speaking of such stories were no taller than the guns they actually carried.
The recent horrific attacks on a school in Afghanistan were also discussed during the U.N Security Council meeting. The attack saw the deaths of at least 90 girls. Other children attacks this year occurred in Nigeria as well where attackers abducted children for ransom.
The U.N started focusing on children in conflict twenty-five years back. Since then the organization has seen an upheaving, shocking and heartbreaking disregard for children’s rights at times of conflict.
Report made at the U.N Security Council meeting
According to a recent report by the United Nations, attackers committed about 24,000 grave breaches, such as recruitment and rape, against 19,300 children in 21 wars in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for experts to reach them.
Additionally, more than 8,400 children were killed or maimed in the wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. Approximately 7,000 more were recruited and employed in combat, primarily in Congo, Somalia, Syria, and Myanmar.
The report also revealed that rape and other forms of sexual assault increased by 70% last year. Abductions on the other hand increased by 90%. School and hospital attacks remained abnormally high as well.
Progress the world has made
After the presentation of the report Henrietta Fore, the head of the U.N made a speech of her own. The U.N head said the report revealed the world’s increased understanding of the devastating impact of conflicts on children. Fore added that the report also showed how little progress the world has made in protecting children from the scourge of war.
Because little has been done about conflicts they are longer, devastate the futures of children, and get increasingly complex. Helpless children who bear no responsibility for the fighting suffer the deepest scars and pay the highest price for such conflicts. On average, the United Nations has confirmed at least 70 children per day who have faced significant human rights breaches over the last five years. Girls were not only the victims of one-quarter of all violations, but they also made up 98 percent of rape and sexual violence victims.
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