U.N. report documents serious violations against children in 2022

UNITED NATIONS – A U.N. report has found that serious violations against children have increased in 2022 compared to previous years.

The Secretary-General’s annual report U.N. on children in armed conflict, released last week, documents 27,180 verified grave violations.

These include the killing, maiming, and abduction of children and their recruitment into armed groups.

According to the report, most grave violations were committed in Ukraine, Syria, Palestine and Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

The report also notes that attacks on schools and hospitals increased significantly in 2022.

The report documents 1,846 attacks on education and health facilities, more than double the number in 2021.

According to the report, 8,630 children lost their lives in 2022 and 7,622 were exploited in connection with military conflicts.

Another 1,166 were victims of sexual violence and 3,985 were abducted.

The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba  said the report paints a deeply disturbing picture of the suffering of children in conflict.

 She called on all parties to conflict to respect international law and protect children.

The report also makes several recommendations, including improving compliance with international law, increasing monitoring and reporting, and providing support to children affected by conflict.

Regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine, the UN investigator noted a decrease in child deaths in 2022.

Earlier this month, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Tuerk, condemned the recent escalation of tensions in the West Bank.

The special envoy, who was responsible for publishing and formulating the report, acknowledged that it was difficult to gather information at military sites.

For this reason, there was a problem of underreporting in the report, as certain data could not be reliably verified.