Sharp Rise In Number Of Children Killed Or Maimed In Armed Conflicts – UN Report
“Boys and girls have once again been overly impacted by protracted and new violent crisis. Despite some progress, the level of violations remains unacceptable”
The United Nations reports a sharp increase in the number of children killed or maimed in armed conflicts around the world – more than 10-thousand in 2017.
The report covers 20 nations, including hotspots such as Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, but also situations in countries such as India, the Philippines and Nigeria.
Virginia Gamba, the UN’s expert on Children and Armed Conflict, said the most significant violations registered in 2017 were killing and maiming, recruitment and attacks on schools and hospitals, all of which registered a rise in comparison to the previous year.
Overall, the UN verified more than 21,000 grave violations of children’s rights between January and December 2017, compared with 15,500 the previous year.
Government forces committed at least 6,000 of these crimes while the majority involved various non-state armed groups.
banner photo via UNICEF/Ahmed Abdulhaleem
