According to a report presented to the U.N. Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, publicly criticized Russia for the death of 136 children in Ukraine in 2022. The report also stated that Russia’s armed forces were included in a worldwide list of perpetrators responsible for such actions.
As per the report verified by the United Nations, it was confirmed that the armed forces of Russia, along with affiliated groups, caused severe injuries to 518 children and conducted 480 assaults specifically targeting schools and hospitals. The report revealed that Russian armed forces resorted to the despicable act of using 91 children as human shields.
Since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia has refuted any allegations of deliberately targeting civilians.
According to the report, it was confirmed that the Ukrainian armed forces were responsible for the deaths of 80 children, causing injuries to 175 children, and carrying out 212 attacks on schools and hospitals. However, it is noteworthy that the Ukrainian armed forces have not been included in the global list of offenders mentioned in the report.
Guterres expressed deep concern and shock regarding the significant number of children killed, injured, and the attacks on schools and hospitals by the Russian armed forces, as stated in the report. He also highlighted his strong unease and disapproval regarding the Ukrainian armed forces’ involvement in similar offenses against children.
The Russian mission to the United Nations in New York has not provided an immediate response to the request for comment on the report.
The annual report presented by Guterres to the 15-member Security Council on children and armed conflict addresses various grave issues such as the killing, maiming, sexual abuse, abduction or recruitment of children, denial of aid access, and the targeting of schools and hospitals. The compilation of the report was carried out by Virginia Gamba, who serves as Guterres’ special representative for children and armed conflict.
During her recent visit to Ukraine and Russia, Virginia Gamba, the special representative for children and armed conflict, held meetings with Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s representative for children’s rights. It is worth noting that Lvova-Belova is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges related to war crimes.
In recent developments, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of engaging in illegal actions such as the deportation of children from Ukraine and the unauthorized transfer of individuals from Ukraine to Russia since the invasion that took place on February 24, 2022.
Moscow has stated that the arrest warrants are legally invalid, citing the fact that Russia did not sign the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The United Nations report on children and armed conflict confirmed that Russian armed forces abducted 91 children, all of whom were later released. The report also verified the transfer of 46 children from Ukraine to Russia.
Moscow has openly acknowledged its program of relocating thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but it portrays it as a humanitarian initiative aimed at safeguarding orphans and children left behind in the conflict-stricken areas.
Controversial List, beyond Russia
The report on children and armed conflict contains a list that aims to publicly expose parties involved in conflicts and encourage them to take actions to safeguard children. This list has been a subject of controversy, as diplomats have claimed that Saudi Arabia and Israel applied pressure in previous years to avoid being included in the list. It is noteworthy that Israel has never been listed, while a Saudi-led military coalition was eventually removed from the list in 2020. The coalition had initially been listed for its role in causing harm to children in Yemen through killings and injuries.
To address the controversies surrounding the report, in 2017, Guterres divided the list into two categories. One category consists of parties that have implemented measures to safeguard children, while the other category comprises parties that have not. Notably, Russia was included in the list of parties that have taken steps to enhance the protection of children.
According to the report, Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of 42 children and the injury of 933 children in 2022. However, Israel is not included in the list of offenders. Guterres acknowledged a significant decrease in the number of children killed by Israeli forces, particularly in airstrikes, but he expressed ongoing deep concern regarding the overall number of children affected by injury or death caused by Israeli forces.
In total, the report verified that there were 24,300 instances of violations committed against children in the year 2022.
The report identified the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Yemen as the locations with the highest number of verified violations against children.
According to Guterres, non-state armed groups were responsible for 50% of the grave violations, while government forces were the primary perpetrators of actions such as killing and maiming children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the obstruction of humanitarian access.
