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SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Despite the advances that have been achieved in those two decades, the basic rights of children were regularly violated during the reporting period. In the Middle East, in addition to the direct impact of current conflicts on children, with thousands being killed, maimed, and recruited and used, there were rapidly developing and evolving humanitarian crises that were of serious concern at the time of writing, in December 2016. In Iraq, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that over half a million children and their families were trapped in Mosul with food and medicine running out and clean water in short supply. In a similar vein, in the Syrian Arab Republic, it was estimated that, at the end of the reporting period, nearly 500,000 children were living in besieged areas and were completely cut off from sustained humanitarian aid. In Yemen, intense conflict has resulted in a lack of food and water, which has put one and a half million children at risk of acute malnutrition.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- In Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, the right of children to health has been severely compromised by attacks on hospitals and health-care professionals. A number of highly publicized attacks have taken place in 2016, which are indicative of trends that have seen increasing numbers of attacks and threats of attacks on health care in recent years. The right of girls to education has also continued to suffer, with attacks or threats of attacks on schools, teachers and female pupils in situations such as in Iraq, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as in Afghanistan and Mali.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In this regard, one of the most disturbing trends documented in 2016, noted earlier in the present report, is the increasing incidence of attacks on health facilities, which has had a grave impact on children's right to health. Hospitals, ambulances and medical personnel have been attacked or threatened with attack in many countries that are on the children and armed conflict agenda, including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Mali, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. The Special Representative has engaged strongly on this issue with parties to conflict and has taken part in a number of United Nations system-wide initiatives. For example, the Office of the Special Representative has supported the development of recommendations on measures to enhance protection of the wounded and sick and of medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, and of their means of transport and equipment and of hospitals and other medical facilities, including through recommendations to parties to conflict, in line with the request made by the Security Council in its resolution 2286 (2016).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Time and time again, children on the move experience fear, anxiety, panic, depression, sleep disorders, mental health problems, increased risk of self-harm and an aggravated sense of hopelessness, with a severe impact on their development and well-being. These children have been left very far behind. For them, the ambitious vision of the 2030 Agenda seems distant and illusory.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The year was also marked by the adoption by the World Health Assembly of resolution WHA69.5, in which the Assembly endorsed the World Health Organization (WHO) global plan of action to strengthen the role of the health system within a national multisectoral response to address interpersonal violence, in particular against women and girls, and against children. WHO also released INSPIRE, a package of evidence-based strategies to prevent and respond to violence against children. Furthermore, a global study led by ECPAT-End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes was issued to shed light on and reinforce collective efforts for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. And the Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, adopted by an inter-agency working group meeting in Luxembourg, were released to provide conceptual clarity to actions aimed at the protection of children, close legal loopholes and address misinterpretations that may put their safety at risk .
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The Central African Republic was also a particular concern in 2016, and in the latter part of the reporting period the situation deteriorated significantly. Clashes between ex-Séléka factions in November in the east of the country resulted in many civilians, including children, being killed or wounded, and in over 11,000 persons reportedly being displaced. These clashes have added to the tension and violent outbreaks that have been ongoing throughout the reporting period. The prevailing insecurity led to the suspension of humanitarian activities in certain areas of the country, gravely compromising the right of children to health and well-being.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Violence compromises all children's rights. It goes hand in hand with deprivation and high risks of poor health, poor school performance and long-term welfare dependency. In early childhood, the impact of violence is often irreversible. As children grow, cumulative exposure to manifestations of violence becomes a bleak continuum, spreading across children's life cycle and, at times, persisting across generations.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- To address these concerns, urgent measures are needed. First, it is crucial to empower children with easily understandable, age-sensitive and culturally appropriate information about their rights and relevant procedures to enable them to exercise their right to be heard and to benefit from effective remedies and services for their protection, recovery and reintegration. Moreover, it is indispensable to establish safe, child- and gender-sensitive counselling, complaints and reporting mechanisms to which children can easily gain access to address any incidents of violence or other grievances.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- As implementation of the 2030 Agenda starts, countless children are already being left behind. This includes children deprived of their liberty. Children in vulnerable situations, including those who have run away from domestic violence, those who live on the street and those who are victims of trafficking, prostitution, organized crime or conflict situations are at special risk; still others may end up in detention as a result of mental health and drug abuse, or because of their status as migrants or asylum seekers.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The international community has an important role to play in promoting accountability, protection and prevention. In resolution 69/132 on global health and foreign policy, the General Assembly urged Member States to protect, promote and respect the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, in accordance with obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law. Similarly, the Security Council, in resolution 2286 (2016), demanded that all parties to armed conflict comply fully with their obligations under international law. The provisions set out in resolution 2286 (2016) complement those contained in Assembly resolutions relating to the children and armed conflict mandate to monitor and report on attacks on hospitals and schools.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The protection of health care is also a key element of Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (General Assembly resolution 70/1). Initiatives to implement the Goals must include specific provisions for children affected by armed conflict. In that regard, the Special Representative welcomes the launch of the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action at the World Humanitarian Summit. The initiative will help to ensure that the many children who are permanently disabled during conflict, sometimes purely as a result of the lack of basic medical services to treat minor conditions, are not forgotten.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 113
- Paragraph text
- As a measure of last resort, deprivation of liberty should never be used as a response to a non-existent or weak national child protection system. When in exceptional circumstances children are lawfully deprived of liberty, their right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of their liberty before a court and to a prompt decision thereon should be respected. The length of their placement must be clearly determined at the time of the decision, and non-custodial alternatives should be strengthened at all stages of the proceedings, including through restorative justice approaches. Moreover, restriction of a child's right to liberty can never be used as a justification for restricting other rights, such as the right to physical and mental integrity, access to justice and due process, protection from discrimination and enjoyment of the rights to education, health or adequate food.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Almost half of all medical facilities in the Syrian Arab Republic are closed or only partially functioning. In Aleppo, there have been a number of air strikes on hospitals in the last six months, and children living there are confronted with the almost impossible task of obtaining basic health care in order to survive. In May, a Syrian doctor wrote in response to one attack that what was most heart-breaking was the need for doctors to choose which patients to save because there were not enough doctors to treat everyone; their hospitals, though they were the targets of bombs, still overflowed with the sick and injured. In Afghanistan, the attack on the Médecins sans frontières hospital in Kunduz in October 2015 caused deaths and injuries of 49 medical staff. The hospital was the only fully functioning trauma care facility for the north-eastern region of Afghanistan and had provided lifesaving procedures to 5,000 people in the period running up to the attack. In Yemen, to give one example, in Taiz, three health facilities were repeatedly hit in 23 separate incidents throughout 2015.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In order to consolidate this cooperation and accelerate progress in freeing children from violence, the Special Representative organizes an annual round table with regional organizations and institutions. This high-level forum is a strategic mechanism in the framework of the United Nations to engage in policy dialogue; share knowledge and good practices; promote cross-fertilization of experiences; coordinate action and enhance synergies; identify trends and pressing challenges; and join forces to strengthen the safety and protection of children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- As implementation of the 2030 Agenda starts, countless children are being left behind, including those deprived of their liberty. Children in vulnerable situations, including those who have run away from domestic violence, those who live on the street and those who are victims of trafficking, prostitution, organized crime or conflict situations, are at special risk. Still others may end up in detention as a result of mental health and drug abuse or because of their status as migrants or asylum seekers.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 114c
- Paragraph text
- [To be effective, national monitoring mechanisms need to have the following:] A clear human rights mandate to prevent and address any act of torture and other form of violence, as well as to protect the rights of children deprived of liberty, including to good-quality education, adequate physical and mental health and access to due process and to legal safeguards to participate in proceedings;
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- One focus of the high-level meeting should be to highlight the responsibility of all States to ensure appropriate protection for all displaced children, to avoid aggravating their vulnerability, through equal access to health care, education and psychosocial support. The Special Representative communicated those messages to Member States at an informal meeting of the General Assembly, held in November 2015, to consider ways to advance a comprehensive response to the global humanitarian and refugee crisis. In December 2015, she attended the annual Dialogue on Protection Challenges organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, and advocated for children displaced by armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2016, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Children's empowerment and contribution need to be at the heart of these efforts. When children are appropriately supported and given the opportunity to learn life skills that increase their confidence and resilience in the safe use of ICTs, they become the most effective agents in preventing and coping with risks, and in protecting other children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Children have a clear vision of the future they want for themselves and for everyone else: to enjoy a safe and healthy life, free from all forms of violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Informed and engaged parents and caregivers who support and advise children on their access to the Internet and their use of ICTs create opportunities for a safer online experience. Taking time to surf cyberspace together, to guide and reassure their children, and to provide age-appropriate rules about online conduct, are crucial dimensions of that process.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative organizes an annual round table with regional organizations and institutions to enhance cross-regional cooperation and accelerate progress in freeing children from violence. The high-level forum has become a strategic mechanism in the framework of the United Nations to promote policy dialogue; share knowledge and good practices; facilitate cross-fertilization of experiences; coordinate efforts and enhance synergies; identify trends and pressing challenges; and join forces to strengthen children's safety and protection.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The indoctrination of children by extremist groups poses new challenges with regard to their protection and psychosocial rehabilitation and reintegration. The Special Representative encourages the Human Rights Council to make use of its mechanisms to highlight and address the need for appropriate measures to rehabilitate those children, in compliance with the principle of the best interest of the child and respecting the child's primary status as a victim.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 115
- Paragraph text
- Knowledge gaps also need to be addressed. So far, studies have focused more on problems and concerns, and less on online opportunities and the long-term consequences of risks. Few studies have been conducted in countries in middle- and low-income countries and less is known about how very young children engage with ICTs. Given that it is in those areas that change has been fastest and the need to minimize risks is particularly felt, it is there that research should be promoted further.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The General Assembly has recognized that attacks on education and health-care facilities deprive millions of children of their rights to healthy lives and to learn and realize their potential. This not only has an immediate impact on children, but also affects the future prospects of societies. In line with its recent debates and resolutions on education in emergencies and attacks on medical facilities, the Assembly welcomed the issuance of the guidance note entitled "Protect schools and hospitals: end attacks on education and health care" in May 2014, which was co-produced by the Special Representative and other organizations of the United Nations system. In her own efforts to promote the guidance note, the Special Representative attended a workshop on the protection of schools and hospitals in January 2015 in Berlin at the invitation of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Prevention of the violation of the rights to education and health was also supported by the Security Council through its resolutions 1998 (2011), 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), in which the Council urged all parties to conflict to respect the civilian character of schools and to refrain from actions that impeded children's access to education and health care.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Parents' and caregivers' own digital literacy is a key factor. They need support and advice to reduce their anxiety and to gain an understanding of the online world and of how children operate in that environment, the risks they might encounter, the harm that can potentially ensue and, crucially, the most effective ways to cope and develop their children's resilience.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 129
- Paragraph text
- Those girls face overwhelming challenges at all stages, including significant barriers to seeking justice. Many are unaware of their rights and even fewer have access to safe, effective and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaints mechanisms. Furthermore, perpetrators are often people they know and trust, or on whom they depend for their survival and protection, raising additional challenges to reporting incidents and preventing the risk of reprisals.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Alongside their unique potential, ICTs are associated with many risks that are sometimes difficult to detect and address, including for families and caregivers. Openness and accessibility are fundamental aspects of the Internet, but therein also lie some of the greatest threats to children's safety and protection from violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Younger children are at high risk of violence, especially when they are placed in residential care. They are heavily dependent on caregivers for their development and well-being, and when neglected, injured or abused, they have less ability to speak up and seek support. If they are surrounded by violence and stress, they can suffer long-lasting emotional trauma and harm to their health, including irreversible damage to brain development.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Sexual violence continues to be surrounded by stigma and remains hidden and unreported, while children largely lack safe, accessible and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaint mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Age has a significant influence on how children operate online. Children are beginning to interact with ICTs and use the Internet at an increasingly young age. The relative simplicity of mobile devices, such as touchscreen tablets and smartphones, is making digital entertainment and Internet content available and easily used by children, including in their very early years. At the same time, younger children may be particularly vulnerable as they lack appropriate technical expertise or ability to identify risks.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph