The United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said in a report that U.N. officials will investigate the killing and wounding of children in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Mozambique, reported Reuters.
According to the annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report, at least 2,515 children were killed and 5,555 maimed in global conflicts in 2021.
The UN report verified the recruitment and use of 6,310 children in conflicts globally in 2021. The report also covers other violations including abduction, school and hospital attacks, sexual violence, and denial of aid.
It found the highest number of verified violations against children in 2021 were in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The UN chief Guterres said next year’s report would include verified violations against children in Ethiopia and Mozambique.
Virginia Gamba, Guterres’ special envoy for children and armed conflict, pointed out that the two most concerning violations emerging from the Ukraine conflict were the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals.
“So I think these two clearly are going to be very high,” Gamba, who compiles the annual UN report, told reporters.
Russia initiated a war against neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24 and denies targeting civilian areas.
Last week, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said 4,889 civilians had been killed in Ukraine, including 335 children, as of July 3. She stressed that the real figure is likely much higher.
The children and armed conflict report includes a blacklist intended to shame parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children.
As per the UN report, Israeli security forces killed 78 Palestinian children, maimed another 982 and detained 637 Palestinian children in 2021. In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition killed and maimed 100 children last year.
“Should the situation repeat itself in 2022, without meaningful improvement, Israel should be listed,” Guterres wrote in the report.
He noted a continued decrease in the number of child casualties by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
