Source: Common Dreams
by Ezequiel Heffes
“This week, the United Nations will hold an open debate on violations of children in wartime, and while this topic would seem morally clear, the debate is sure to be contentious. Earlier this month, with the U.N. Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, the armed forces of Israel, as well as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, join the armed forces of and armed groups in Russia, Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan as documented perpetrators of grave violations of the rights of children. In nearly 33,000 documented incidents, children were killed, starved, maimed, kidnapped, and recruited as soldiers in more than two dozen war zones. The secretary-general’s annual report and its annexed list of perpetrators, the so-called ‘list of shame,’ have served as a unique and largely effective tool for identifying perpetrators and pressuring them to end violations and protect children in times of war.” (06/25/24)