UNICEF Report: More than 1,70,000 violations against Children

On December 31, 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its annual report. The report stated that since 1989, the number of countries experiencing conflicts has increased and the attacks on children has increased as well.

Highlights

According to the report, the number of attacks on children since 2010 has increased three-fold. The agency has hence named the decade as “Deadly Decade”. The report also stated that the number of countries experiencing violence has increased since 1989. The year 1989 has been specified as the Convention on Rights of Child was passed in 1989.

UNICEF says that in 2018, around 24,000 grave violations were recorded against children. The number has gone up highly to 1,70,000 in 2019. This is more than threefold and is deadly. This includes abductions, killing, sexual violence, maiming, child recruitment, denial to humanitarian access and attacks in schools and hospitals.

The United Nations states that there have been more than 10,000 violations in the first half of 2019. The violations were predominantly in the conflict zones. It includes northern Syria, Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Convention on Rights of Child, 1989

According to the convention, any child below the age of 18 is called a child. Around 140 countries have signed the convention. India is also a signatory. The convention sets out social, political, economic, civil and cultural rights of every child. The rights include right to education, right to protection against physical abuse, right to rest and leisure.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2020