It was not included in the list of shame.. UN report: Israel killed 78 Palestinian children last year

A UN report revealed on Monday that the Israeli occupation bears responsibility for killing 78 Palestinian children and maiming 982 others in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.

This was stated in the annual report of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on "Children and Armed Conflict for 2021".

In the report, the Secretary-General warned that if these numbers continue in 2022, Israel will be included in the list of shame appended to the next report.

In 2002, the United Nations announced the "List of Shame", also known as the "Black List", which includes organizations and countries that violate the rights of children in conflict areas in the world, through a list issued in its annual report on children and armed conflict.

The report stated that nearly 19,000 children suffered in 2021 from "grave violations", explaining that no less than 5,242 girls and 13,000 663 boys were victims of these violations in 21 countries, and among these 4 Arab countries are Syria, Yemen and Somalia. and Palestine, according to the report.

The term "grave violations" in the report means the crimes of "the killing and maiming of children, sexual exploitation and rape, forced recruitment, and depriving children of humanitarian access."

The UN report stated that violence against children in countries experiencing conflict continued at a high level in 2021.

A Palestinian child injured by the Israeli bombing of Gaza last year (Anatolia)

legal response

Many NGOs reacted negatively to the UN Secretary-General's report.

Not only did the Secretary-General not include those responsible for the armed conflicts in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Mozambique on his "list of shame," said Jo Becker, an official at Human Rights Watch, but his report does not provide meaningful information about the heinous abuses children have been subjected to. in these disputes.

It added that not including the Israeli forces accused of killing 78 Palestinian children in 2021 and maiming 982 others on the "list of shame" is another missed opportunity to hold them accountable, while listing other forces or armed groups that committed far fewer violations.

The NGO Child and Armed Conflict Watchlist lamented the desire to downplay Israel's responsibility, as well as the "blatant disregard" for the lives of children in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ukraine and other war-torn countries.