UN Report: Violations Against Children in Conflict Zones Increase by 25% in 2024New York, 27 Aug (ONA) — A United Nations report revealed that grave violations against children in armed conflict zones around the world witnessed a shocking 25% increase in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The report, presented to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba said that children have paid a heavy price as a result of hostilities and the disregard of international humanitarian law and human rights law by parties to conflict, which has exacerbated humanitarian crises and put the lives of millions of children at risk.
The report indicated that the largest number of violations occurred in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Haiti, while the largest increases in the percentage of violations against children occurred in Mozambique, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Ukraine.
According to the report, the ongoing conflicts in the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso are the deadliest for children, noting that these violations include killing, maiming, denial of humanitarian access, and the recruitment and use of children.
It added that the scope of denial of humanitarian access has expanded to alarming levels, with the largest number of humanitarian workers killed in 2024, including UN personnel, while an unprecedented number of children were deprived of access to basic humanitarian services.— Ends/Khalid