Killing children and attacking schools in Ukraine, UN blacklists Russian forces

The United Nations put Russian forces on its annual blacklist of countries that violate childrens rights in conflict for killing boys and girls and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine according to a new report seen Thursday by The Associated PressAccording to AP SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres said in the report to the Security Council that he is appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine in 2022 shocked at the number of attacks on schools and hospitals concerned by the detention of children and troubled that some Ukrainian children have been transferred to RussiaThe UN chief did not put Israel on the blacklist for grave violations against 1139 Palestinian children including 54 killings last year as supporters had hopedInstead he welcomed Israels engagement with the UN special envoy for children in armed conflict Virginia Gamba and its identification of practical measures including those proposed by the UN to protect childrenRiyad Mansour the Palestinian UN ambassador told reporters Guterres made a big mistake in not listing the most extreme government in Israels historyIt is very disappointing to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian children he saidIn the wideranging report the secretarygeneral said that last year children were disproportionately affected by conflict He said the UN verified grave violations against 13469 children including 2985 who were killed in 24 countries and one region Grave violations include the recruitment and use of youngsters by combatants killings and injuries sexual violence abductions and attacks on schools and hospitalsGuterres said the spread of conflicts to new areas contributed to a 14037 increase in grave violations in Myanmar and a 13537 increase in South Sudan An upsurge in activity by armed groups including alQaida and the Islamic State also caused a severe deterioration of the situation in the central Sahel particularly in Burkina Faso leading to an 8537 increase in grave violationsViolations also increased in Colombia Israel the Palestinian territories Lebanon Libya Mali Nigeria Sudan and Syria the secretarygeneral saidThe report also lists two new countries of concern for children Haiti and NigerGuterres said the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups were listed for carrying out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals and for killing children in particular through their shelling and airstrikes on cities and town According to the report 136 Ukrainian children were killed and 518 injuredThe secretarygeneral urged Russian forces to abide by their obligations under international law and their own commitments to protect children including by avoiding the military use of schools and hospitals putting in place accountability and reparations measures and exchanging information with the UN on all children in conflictaffected areasGuterres also urged Russia to ensure that no changes are made to the personal status of Ukrainian children including their nationality Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russias invasion and the International Criminal Court increased pressure on Russia when it issued arrest warrants on March 17 for President Vladimir Putin and the Russian childrens rights commissioner Maria LvovaBelova accusing them of abducting children from UkraineThe UN chief said he is also concerned by the number of grave violations against children by Ukrainian forces and urged them to abide by protections for civilians under international law According to the report Ukrainian armed forces were responsible for the deaths of 80 children and injuries to 175 others as well as 212 attacks on schools and hospitalsWith inputs from AP