Controversial Choice of Words by UN Secretary-General in Report on Children and Armed Conflict

2023-06-30 11:37:00

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, faces criticism for the controversial choice of words in a paper he submitted. In which report dated June 5 and published this week to the Security Council, the top UN official expressly welcomes the fact that two Palestinian organizations classified by the European Union, Israel and the USA as terrorists, which in the past have repeatedly recruited minors for the armed struggle once morest Israel, are taking part in a UN Consultation on the protection of children’s rights and took “practical measures”.

“I welcome the letters from Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the appointment of focal points and the establishment of practical measures, including those proposed by the United Nations, to end and prevent serious abuses once morest children, including those linked to killing and maiming as well as related to the recruitment and use of children,” says the report. Israel was also expressly commended for its cooperation.

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The paper deals with serious violations of children’s rights in armed conflicts worldwide. It also mentions Russia’s role in kidnapping children from the occupied territories in Ukraine.

In the Middle East conflict, the report places the primary blame for the killings and injuries of children on Israel. It states: “Most of the children were mutilated by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the course of law enforcement operations by the Israeli forces (473). The main causes of mutilations by Israeli forces were live ammunition (153), rubber-coated metal bullets (136) and attacks in the Gaza Strip (44).” Guterres said he was “extremely concerned” at the persistently high level of serious violence once morest children. He nonetheless positively highlighted that the number of children killed by Israeli forces has decreased significantly compared to his last report in 2022.

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RECRUITMENT “Nonetheless, I remain deeply concerned at the number of children killed and maimed by Israeli forces during hostilities and through the use of live ammunition in law enforcement, and the continued lack of accountability for these violations,” Guterres said.

A total of 55 children were said to have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (37), Gaza (17) and in Israel (1) by Israeli forces (42) while the Al-Quds Brigades (the terrorist arm of Palestinian Islamic Jihad) killed nine children and the rest were killed by other groups. Although both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad regularly hold military training camps for children and youth weapons training, this is not addressed in the UN report.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Virginia Gamba, the UN special envoy for children and armed conflict, said: “A child is a child is a child, even if it’s a violent criminal. A violation will also be registered if it involves the killing, maiming or imprisonment of a child guilty of an act of violence.« mth

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