The United Nations (UN) says more
than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in conflicts in 2017 while more than
8,000 youngsters were recruited or used as combatants.
The annual report of the
secretary-general on Children and Armed Conflict covered 20 countries,
including Nigeria, Afghanistan, India, the Philippines, Syria and Yemen.
Virginia Gamba, UN’s expert on
Children and Armed Conflict, said the UN verified 881 children out of which 570
were killed and 311 maimed in Nigeria, attributing 620 of the casualties to
Boko Haram and 261 to Nigerian security forces.
She provided examples, including
what she described as the “despicable trend” of turning children in
north-eastern Nigeria into “human bombs,” where nearly half of the 881 verified
child casualties resulted from suicide attacks.
The expert said Boko Haram has
continued to force civilians, including children, to perpetrate suicide
attacks.
She said 66 parties to the
conflict were listed in 2018 – three more than in the 2016 report – with nine
government forces and 57 armed groups named.
“Among the most significant
violations registered in 2017 were killing and maiming, recruitment and use and
attacks on schools and hospitals, all of which registered a rise in comparison
to the previous year,’’ Gamba said.
The UN report verified more than
21,000 grave violations of children’s rights between January and December 2017,
compared with 15,500 in 2016.
“In north-east Nigeria, as well
as in neighbouring countries, Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad,
commonly known as Boko Haram, intensified attacks on civilians, including
through suicide bombings and ground attacks,” the expert said.
She said the total number of
verified cases of the recruitment and use of children decreased by almost 50
percent from 2,122 in 2016 to 1,092 in 2017 in Nigeria.
The UN envoy said the decrease
might be attributed to the loss of territory by Boko Haram, the displacement of
civilians from areas controlled by the group and the Civilian Joint Task Force
action plan, signed in 2017.
With regard to the security
forces, 235 casualties were caused by the unfortunate aerial bombardments on
Rann in 2017, while 26 casualties were suspected to be carrying improvised
explosive devices.
“Almost half of all casualties –
411 – resulted from suicide attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram (including the
use of children as carriers of person-borne improvised explosive devices),” the
report said.
“A worrying trend is the
continued use of children by Boko Haram as carriers of person-borne improvised
explosive devices, with 146 cases documented in Nigeria.
“The UN verified 45 incidents of
rape and other forms of sexual violence, affecting 131 children, including nine
boys and 125 cases – nine boys and 116 girls – were attributed to Boko Haram.
All child victims attributed to Boko Haram were abducted, raped or forcibly
married to members of the group.”
The report also said UN verified
four attacks on schools and one attack on a hospital in Nigeria attributed to
Boko Haram.
“In addition, 1,456 children in
north-east Nigeria were verified as having been abducted by Boko Haram during
previous years,” it read.
It noted that 82 of the Chibok
schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014 were released as a result of
internationally supported negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian
government, while 112 remained unaccounted for.
Gamba encouraged the government
to cease the use of schools for military purposes, in line with the commitments
in the Safe Schools Declaration, and to provide a protective educational
environment for children in particular for girls.
“The continued number of
violations by Boko Haram remains gravely disturbing, in particular, the use of
children as carriers of person-borne improvised explosive devices and the
number of abductions,” she said.
She expressed concern for the
significant increase in the number of children killed and maimed and of cases
of sexual violence.
The envoy called on all parties
to the conflict to take urgent action to improve the protection of children.
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