Middle-East

UN adds Israel to 'list of shame' for alleged gross violation of children's rights

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

By Mwangi Maina | Friday, June 7, 2024

The Jewish state has been accused of maiming, torturing, and killing 15,000 children in Gaza since October.

Israel has been condemned by the UN and added to the "list of shame", joining Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda, for alleged gross violations of children's rights during conflict.

The Jewish state has been accused of maiming, torturing, and killing 15,000 children in Gaza since October.

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Each year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres compiles a list of countries and armed groups he deems to have committed grave violations against children during conflict and delivers a report on the matter to the UN Security Council in mid-July.

While the list carries no penalties, the fallout could be immensely damaging, with Israel at risk of decreased diplomatic standing and in jeopardy of sanctions, arms embargoes and other boycotts.

An Israeli army soldier gestures while seated in the turret of a battle tank moving at a position along the border between southern Israeli and the Gaza Strip on January 31, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)

Jerusalem has fumed over the announcement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, “The UN has put itself on the blacklist of history today when it joined the supporters of the Hamas murderers. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and no delusional decision by the UN will change that.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has said that more than 15,000 children have been martyred since the start of the war last October.

It noted that the majority of those killed by Israel were schoolchildren. Moreover, 64 students from schools in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, have also been killed in the past eight months.

In a statement issued on Tuesday marking the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, the ministry said that the children of Gaza are the main focus of this day in 2024, as they are the prime victims of the ongoing attacks against the Palestinians.

They are, it noted paying a heavy price for this aggression and its grave effects on them.