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Express Tribune
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan welcomes UN decision to remove references in child conflict report
Listen to article Pakistan on Friday welcomed a decision by the United Nations secretary general to remove references to the country in the annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, calling it a recognition of Islamabad's efforts to protect child rights. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday, Pakistan termed the development a 'significant outcome' and a testament to its 'constructive, sustained, and intensive engagement' with the United Nations, particularly the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC). The UN's Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) agenda monitors six grave violations against children in conflict zones: killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. PR No.1️⃣9️⃣1️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ Pakistan Welcomes United Nations Secretary General's Decision to Remove References to Pakistan from the Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict 🔗⬇️ — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) June 27, 2025 The report, published on June 17, acknowledged the agreement between Pakistan and the United Nations on a child protection roadmap, formalised in June 2025, and urged its effective implementation. While noting progress, the UN secretary general expressed concern over reports of grave violations, including attacks on schools—particularly girls' schools—health workers, and incidents along the Afghan border. However, he added that, given Pakistan's cooperation and preventive measures adopted under the agreement, the country would not be listed in the next annual report. 'In view of the level of grave violations in Pakistan and the preventive measures adopted as agreed by the Government in June 2025 in cooperation with the United Nations to protect children, the situation of Pakistan will be removed from my next report,' the secretary general noted. Also Read: Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tax on US tech firms The FO said the decision reflects international recognition of Pakistan's legislative, institutional, and policy measures to protect and promote the rights and well-being of children while reaffirming country's commitment to aligning national frameworks with international norms and best practices in child protection. Pakistan, it added, remains committed to close cooperation with the UN to ensure a safer and brighter future for children. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in a statement on X, also welcomed the UN secretary general's decision, calling it 'a reflection of our sustained, constructive engagement and Pakistan's unwavering commitment to child protection.' He added, 'It also marks a significant recognition of Pakistan's national efforts to uphold child rights and ensure their well-being. Pakistan remains committed to working with the United Nations and international partners to secure a safer, more hopeful future for all children. Pakistan welcomes the UN Secretary General's decision to remove references to Pakistan from the Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. This reflects our sustained, constructive engagement and reaffirms Pakistan's commitment to child protection. It also marks a significant… — Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) June 27, 2025 Report reveals grave violations against children According to the United Nations report, violence against children in armed conflicts surged to record levels in 2024, with a 25% increase in grave violations compared to the previous year. The report, prepared following consultations and in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2427 (2018), covers the period from January to December 2024. It outlines trends in the impact of armed conflict on children and includes a list of parties involved in violations such as recruitment and use, killing and maiming, sexual violence, abductions, and attacks on schools and hospitals. The UN verified 41,370 grave violations, including 36,221 that occurred in 2024 and 5,149 from previous years that were verified during the reporting period. At least 22,495 children were affected. Among the most widespread violations were the killing and maiming of children, with 4,676 children killed and 7,291 injured. Other grave violations included 7,906 incidents of denied humanitarian access, 7,402 cases of child recruitment and use, and 4,573 abductions. Read More: Israeli soldiers ordered to shoot at unarmed aid seekers in Gaza: report The report also noted that 3,018 children were detained in 2024, often for alleged or actual ties to armed groups — including those sanctioned by the UN Security Council — or on national security grounds, raising serious concerns about violations of their rights. The highest numbers of violations were recorded in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8,554), followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,043), Somalia (2,568), Nigeria (2,436), and Haiti (2,269). The largest percentage increases occurred in Lebanon (545%), Mozambique (525%), Haiti (490%), Ethiopia (235%), and Ukraine (105%). Sexual violence against children rose by 35%, including a sharp increase in cases of gang rape. The report described sexual violence as being used deliberately as a tactic of war — to terrorize populations, assert control over territory, displace communities, or target children based on ethnicity or gender. The denial of humanitarian access also reached unprecedented levels in 2024. The report said more humanitarian workers, including UN staff, were killed last year than ever before. Aid convoys and personnel were attacked, humanitarian workers were arbitrarily detained, and numerous bureaucratic and administrative barriers were imposed, severely disrupting operations. These actions left countless children without access to healthcare, education, protection services, or life-saving humanitarian aid, the report said. The report has urged all parties to uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, and to respect the rights and special protections granted to children.
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
‘A Moral Failure': Security Council Hears About Grave Violations Against Children Caught In War
'From that day on, our home became a travel bag and our path became that of displacement … My childhood was filled with fear and anxiety and people I was deprived of,' she said, speaking via videoconference from Syria. Sila, now 17, described her experiences during the Syrian Civil War to a meeting of the UN Security Council held on Wednesday to discuss the findings of the Secretary-General's latest report on Children and Armed Conflict. The report documented a 25 per cent increase in grave violations against children in 2024, the largest number ever recorded in its 20-year history. ' This year's report from the Secretary-General once again confirms what too many children already know — that the world is failing to protect them from the horrors of war,' said Sheema Sen Gupta, director of child protection at the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Seema Sen Gupta, director of child protection and migration at UNICEF, briefs the Security Council. 'Each violation against children in every country around the globe represents a moral failure.' The real scale of the harm The report presented to the Security Council is published annually to document grave violations against children affected by war. It relies entirely on data compiled and verified by the UN, meaning that the real numbers are likely much higher than reported. In 2024, the report documented a record 41,370 grave violations — including killing and maiming, rape, abduction and the targeting of infrastructure such as schools which supports children. 'Each child struck by these attacks carries a story, a stolen life, a dream interrupted, a future obscured by senseless violence and protracted conflict,' said Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, whose office produced the report. Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, briefs the Security Council. While many of these violations occurred during times of conflict — especially as urban warfare is on the rise — grave violations can persist even after a conflict ends. They persist in the unexploded ordinances which still pepper the ground. 'Every unexploded shell left in a field, schoolyard, or alley is a death sentence waiting to be triggered,' said Ms. Sen Gupta. They persist in the spaces which remain destroyed, impeding children from accessing healthcare and education. And they persist in the trauma and injuries which never fully leave a child. Scars that never heal Children who survive the grave violations do not escape unscathed — if they suffered violence, the injuries will stay with them for a lifetime. And even if they were not injured, the trauma remains. 'The physical and psychological scars borne by survivors last a lifetime, affecting families, communities and the very fabric of societies,' said Ms. Gamba. This is why UNICEF and its partners have worked to provide reintegration programmes and psychosocial support for children who are victims of grave violations. Sila said that the trauma of her childhood is still with her, and has pushed her to become an advocate for children in conflicts. 'From that moment on, nothing has felt normal in my life. I've developed a phobia of any sound that resembles a plane, of the dark, and even of silence,' she said. 'This cannot be the new normal' Ms. Gamba called for 'unwavering condemnation and urgent action' from the international community in order to reverse the worrying trends which the report details. ' We cannot afford to return to the dark ages where children were invisible and voiceless victims of armed conflict … Please do not allow them to slip back into the shadows of despair,' she said. Current funding cuts to humanitarian aid are impeding the work of UN agencies and partners to document and respond to grave violations against children. In light of this, Ms. Sen Gupta's call for the Security Council was simple: 'Fund this agenda.' She said that the international community cannot allow this to become 'a new normal,' and reminded the members of the Security Council that children are not and should never be 'collateral damage.' Despite the devastation which the report detailed, there were 'glimmers of hope' according to Ms. Sen Gupta. For example, the Syrian National Army signed an action plan which will prevent the recruitment, killing and maiming of children. Sila also spoke of hope — she hopes that hers is the last generation to suffer these grave violations. 'I am from a generation that survived. Physically,' she said. 'Our bodies survived but our hearts are still living in fear. Please help us replace the word displacement with return, the word rubble with home, the word war with life.'
United News of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
India slams Pakistan for deflecting attention from atrocities against children in that country
New Delhi, June 26 (UNI) India today slammed Pakistan for smearing it at various discussions to pursue a nefarious agenda and rejected Islamabad's attempt to deflect attention from the atrocities committed against children in its own land. India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador P Harish, in a UN Security Council Debate 'Effective strategies to end and prevent grave violations against children', said Pakistan is casting unwarranted aspersions over UN processes and also smearing India at various discussions to pursue their nefarious agenda. ''We reject this attempt by Pakistan to deflect attention from the atrocities committed against children in their country, as highlighted in the Secretary General's report, as well as their rampant cross border terrorism,'' he said. Harish said he was constrained to respond to the politically motivated remarks made by the delegate of Pakistan, ''one of the grave violators of the CAAC agenda.'' Guyana had organised the open debate on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC). He said the world had not forgotten the savage targeted attacks by Pakistan and Pakistan-trained terrorists killing 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. The Security Council had issued a press statement on April 25 which underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act accountable and bring them to justice. He said India had undertaken non-escalatory, proportionate and focused attacks that targeted nine terrorist infrastructure sites on the May 7 in response through Operation Sindoor. ''The terrorists killed in these attacks were given state funerals by Pakistan. And yet, they try to preach others,'' Ambassador Harish said. Pointing out that the Secretary General's report on CAAC provides details of serious violations against children in armed conflict in Pakistan, he said the Secretary General had expressed concern at the rise in such grave violations reported including attacks against schools, particularly girls' schools, against health workers, and about the incidents in the border areas with Afghanistan where a series of killing and maiming of Afghan children was directly attributed to cross border shelling and air strikes by Pakistani armed forces. The Pakistan army also deliberately shelled India's border villages in May, killing and injuring a number of civilians. ''To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical.'' Ambassador Harish reaffirmed India's stand that the ''entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India irrespective of the frequent and incessant spate of lies and falsehoods by Pakistan.'' He said the world is witnessing an alarming escalation in conflicts and terrorist attacks and children are their most unfortunate casualties. As per UNSG's report, grave violations against children have surged 25 percent, while sexual violence has risen 35 percent in 2024 —a sobering indictment that demands immediate and decisive action. Creating an enabling environment for holistic development of children is fundamental for child protection. Their safety, nutrition and education should be prioritised at national and household levels. Children in conflict and post-conflict situations, however, require specialised attention and psycho-social support for their successful reintegration into society. Thus, sustained efforts by the state are required to build these essential ecosystems. He said India leads by example and has taken several steps to protect children and aid their growth and development. India established the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2007 to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes and administrative systems conform to the vision of the rights of the child as enunciated in the Constitution of India as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Mission Vatsalya Scheme is a flagship child welfare and protection initiative aimed at ensuring the safety, protection and holistic development of children, especially those in vulnerable situations. "India also undertakes periodic and comprehensive awareness campaigns including among security personnel on child protection and child rights. Another concrete step is incorporating child protection provisions into the standard operating procedures of security personnel. ''Our experience in peacekeeping operations underlines the need to allocate sufficient resources and requisite number of child protection advisers in peacekeeping missions for effective child protection programmes.'' National governments hold primary responsibility for protecting children's rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. With over 7,000 children newly recruited by armed groups in 2024, Member States must establish comprehensive legal frameworks to ensure effective prosecution of child-related crimes. Pointing out that children remain particularly vulnerable to indoctrination on violent extremist ideologies and radical terrorist recruitment, he said Member States should work together on the child protection agenda and counter-terrorism. 'It is high time that Member States shed their political inhibitions to hold both terrorist perpetrators and their state sponsors accountable for exploiting the most innocent and vulnerable population,' Harish said. UNI RB SSP
United News of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
India strongly rebuts Pakistan's politically motivated remarks at UNSC
United Nations, June 26 (UNI) India has strongly rebutted Pakistan's 'politically motivated remarks' on Kashmir at the UNSC, and called out Islamabad for being 'one of the grave violators' of the UN's Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) agenda. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, speaking during a debate yesterday on the CAAC agenda, rejected unwarranted attempts by Pakistan to smear India and derail the UN processes. His reply came in response to Pakistan's Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad who in a statement mentioned 'Kashmiri children' as having suffered in Jammu and Kashmir. Rejecting Pakistan's insinuations, Ambassador Harish accusing Islamabad of attempting to deflect attention from its own human rights violations, particularly those involving children. Harish pointed out that Pakistan is 'one of the grave violators of the CAAC agenda', referring to the UN Secretary-General's report that documented serious violations against children in Pakistan, including attacks on schools, especially girls' schools, health workers, and incidents of cross-border violence affecting Afghan children He said Pakistan's "unwarranted aspersions" were an attempt to deflect attention from atrocities committed against children in that country and the rampant cross-border terrorism. "I am constrained to respond to the politically motivated remarks made by the delegate of Pakistan, one of the grave violators of the CAAC (Children and Armed Conflict) agenda," Ambassador Harish said. Harish said that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' report on CAAC provides details of serious violations against children in armed conflict in Pakistan. 'To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," Harish said. Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 tourists were killed by Pakistan-trained terrorists, Ambassador Harish said: 'The world has not forgotten the savage targeted attacks by Pakistan and Pakistan-trained terrorists killing 26 tourists in India in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025.' He noted that the Security Council had issued a Press Statement on April 25 that had underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act accountable and bring them to justice. He said India had undertaken non-escalatory, proportionate and focused attacks that targeted nine terrorist infrastructure sites on May 7 in response. He called out Pakistan's hypocrisy in preaching to the UN while giving state funerals to terrorists and shelling Indian border villages. He also reaffirmed that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so. In other remarks, the Indian Ambassador to the UN called for strengthening national and local systems to protect children and urged the international community to hold violators accountable. Harish said that children remain particularly vulnerable to indoctrination on violent extremist ideologies and radical terrorist recruitment. Member States should work together on the child protection agenda and counter-terrorism. "It is high time that Member States shed their political inhibitions to hold both terrorist perpetrators and their state sponsors accountable for exploiting the most innocent and vulnerable population," he said. The UN Secretary General's report on Children and Armed Conflict noted that a total of 99 grave violations against 86 children (27 boys, 14 girls, 45 sex unknown) were reported in Pakistan. A total of 13 attacks on schools were reported and insecurity had a negative impact on health workers. "I am concerned about the rise in reported grave violations, including attacks against schools, particularly girls' schools, and against health workers, and about incidents in the border areas with Afghanistan," the UN Secretary General had said in his report. UNI RN
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
UN: India calls out Pak's attempts to deflect attention from atrocities committed against children
'I am constrained to respond to the politically motivated remarks made by the delegate of Pakistan, one of the grave violators of the CAAC (Children and Armed Conflict) agenda,' India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador P Harish said.
