Israel topped the 2021 UN report for violations of children’s human rights
Israel should be blacklisted by the United Nations if it continues inflicting violence on Palestinian children at such high levels, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared on Monday following the publication of the international body’s latest Children and Armed Conflict report.
The UN verified 2,934 “There are grave violations” against 1,208 Palestinian children and nine Israeli children in the report, which covered Israel, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The report also found that Israeli forces had killed 78 Palestinian children and maimed 982. It also detained 637 detainees.
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“It is shocking to see how many children were killed or maimed in Israeli hostilities. This includes air strikes against densely populated areas, and the use live ammunition for law enforcement.,” the UN leader wrote.
“Israel should be included in the list if this situation occurs again 2022 without any significant improvement,” he argued, referring to the “BLACK LIST” found at the end of each annual Children and Armed Conflict report. Israel has not yet been included on the list, which is aimed at pressuring named countries and armed groups known to be committing violations of children’s human rights. Some diplomats suggest that Israel, along with Saudi Arabia, recently under pressure from the UN to be removed from the list.
In 2021, there were 2,515 deaths and 5,555 injuries to children in global conflict situations. There was also 6,310 child recruitment or use in conflicts. The worst violations were recorded in Israel, Palestine and Yemen. Yemen continues its attacks on Israel despite an UN-brokered ceasefire. Syria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo also saw high levels of violence.
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Guterres announced that in the 2022 edition, UN-verified violations will be included in Ukraine’s, Ethiopia’s, and Mozambique. Michelle Bachelet (UN human rights chief) said that there were 335 known victims of violence in Ukraine. However, the true number could be much higher. The cause of the deaths was not explained by her.
