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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Violence against children in increasingly frequent and intense conflicts reached “extreme levels” in 2023, with record numbers of people killed and injured in wars from Israel and the Palestinian territories to Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, according to a new U.N. report.
The annual report on Children in Armed Conflict, obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, said there had been a “shocking 21 percent increase in grave violations” against children under 18 in a variety of conflicts, including those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Syria.
For the first time, a UN report blacklisted the Israeli army as a country that violated children’s rights by killing and maiming minors and attacking schools and hospitals. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters also appeared in court for the first time for killing, injuring and kidnapping children.
The report said the sudden Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 and Israel’s massive military response in the Gaza Strip led to a 155 percent increase in serious violations against minors, particularly the use of explosive weapons in urban areas of the territory.
For the second year in a row, the United Nations blacklisted Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups for killing and maiming children and for attacks on Ukrainian schools and hospitals.
In Sudan, where rival generals have been vying for power since 2023, “aggravated rapes of minors have increased by a shocking 480 per cent,” the report said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces were blacklisted for killing and injuring teenagers and attacking schools and hospitals. In addition, the paramilitary group was also listed for recruiting and using children in military operations and committing rape and sexual violence.
As Myanmar’s civil war continues to escalate, serious violations against children have increased by 123%, resulting in the Myanmar military and related militias, as well as seven other armed groups, appearing on this year’s blacklist.
The report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres states that the UN verified 30,705 violations against children in 2023, compared with 2,285 previously, affecting more than 15,800 boys and more than 6,250 girls. Some were violated multiple times.
Guterres added that the alarming increase in violations was due to “changes in the nature, complexity, expansion and intensification of armed conflicts, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians, infrastructure and other vital buildings,” the emergence of new armed groups, serious humanitarian emergencies and “flagrant disregard” for international law.
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