Hommam Al Nassim 
The United Nations has included the Israeli army on its blacklist of countries and groups that violate the rights of children in armed conflict, for the first time in its history.
This decision came in the United Nations’ annual report on “Children and Armed Conflict,” which indicated “a horrific 21 percent increase in serious violations against children under the age of 18 in a range of conflicts, referring to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Sudan, Myanmar, Congo, Burkina Faso and Somalia.” And Syria.”
According to the report, the Israeli army was involved in “killing and maiming children and attacking schools and hospitals,” and it also blacklisted for the first time “militants from the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad movements for their involvement in killing, wounding, and kidnapping children.”
The report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, revealed that “the surprise attack launched by Hamas last October 7 on southern Israel and the large-scale Israeli military response in Gaza caused a 155 percent increase in grave violations against children, especially resulting from the use of explosive weapons in Populated areas in Gaza.
Guterres expressed his “shock at the involvement of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements in the mutilation and kidnapping of children on October 7,” saying, “Nothing can justify these brutal terrorist acts,” noting his “dismay at reports that sexual violence was committed during the attacks, which must be investigated.” In which”.
The report explained that “the year 2023 witnessed 5,698 serious violations against children attributed to Israeli forces, 116 to Hamas, 58 to unknown perpetrators, 51 to Israeli settlers, 21 to Islamic Jihad, 13 to Palestinian individuals, and one violation to the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, while The verification process is still ongoing regarding 2,051 other violations.”
In Sudan, the report noted that “since 2023, the country has witnessed a massive 480 percent increase in grave violations against children.”
The United Nations blacklisted “the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces for killing and injuring young people and attacking schools and hospitals.”
Guterres said, “By the end of 2023, the United Nations had verified 1,721 serious violations against 1,526 children in Sudan.”
The United Nations also included “the armed forces in Myanmar and the militias loyal to them and seven armed groups on the blacklist for this year,” as it verified “2,799 serious violations against 2,093 children, including 238 killings and 623 injuries attributed to the army and the militias loyal to it.”
The report concluded by pointing out the urgent need to intensify international efforts to protect children in conflict areas and put an end to grave violations against them.
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