UN adds Israel, Hamas, and Sudan rivals to list for killing children

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday named and shamed Israel's armed and security forces, Palestinian militants Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and Sudan's warring parties for killing and maiming children in 2023, adding them to an annual global list of offenders for violations against children.

In a report to the UN Security Council - seen by Reuters - Guterres also called out the armed forces of Israel and Sudan for attacking schools and hospitals and Hamas and Islamic Jihad for abducting children.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who have been fighting the Sudanese armed forces since April last year, was also named for recruiting and using children, committing rape and other sexual violence, and attacking schools and hospitals.

The report, compiled by Guterres' envoy for children and armed conflict Virginia Gamba, covers six grave violations - killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, recruitment and use, denial of aid, and attacks on schools and hospitals.

The list attached to the report aims to shame parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children. It only reports on violations verified by the United Nations.

"In 2023, violence against children in armed conflict reached extreme levels, with a shocking 21 percent increase in grave violations," the report read. "The number of instances of killing and maiming increased by a staggering 35 percent."

"The highest numbers of grave violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan," found the report, describing verification as "extremely challenging."

Russia's armed forces and affiliated groups stayed on the list after being added last year, for killing and maiming children in Ukraine and attacking schools and hospitals.

Russia's UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Moscow has denied targeting civilians since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Reuters