A UN official on Friday told the UN Security Council that the first quarter of 2018 saw a 348 percent increase in killing and maiming of children in Syria compared to the previous quarter.
This year has been particularly woeful for Syria’s children as violations against them rise significantly, according to a UN monitoring body, which has verified more than 1,200 such violations, including the deaths or injury of more than 600 children.
Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that over 100 attacks on hospitals and medical facilities or personnel have been verified since the beginning of 2018.
The grave violations of children’s rights included “sexual abuse of children,” added Gamba in her briefing to the Council.
Gamba called all on all parties involved in the conflict in Syria to comply with applicable obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child and its optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
“I further call on all parties to the conflict in Syria to take immediate measures to ensure that their military operations are conducted in full compliance with international law including through respecting the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.”
The Assad regime has launched major offensive in different parts of Syria since the beginning of this year, committing war crimes that affected children, according to human rights organizations.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that at least 1,104 children were killed in the first half of this year, of which 616 were killed by the Assad regime, 138 by the Russian forces, and 113 by the international anti-ISIS coalition. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
