Palestinian children search through the rubble of their home destroyed by Israeli strikes in Khuza'a, southern Gaza Strip in 2014. UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan
"Children need peace and protection at all times. The rules of war prohibit the unlawful targeting of civilians, attacks on schools or hospitals, the use, recruitment and unlawful detention of children, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. When conflicts break out, these rules need to be respected and those who break them need to be held to account. Enough is enough. Stop attacks on children."
—UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore
It is a sad reality that in situations where armed conflict breaks out, it is the most vulnerable members of societies – namely children, who are most affected by the consequences of war. The six most common violations are recruitment and use of children in war, killing, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access.
On 19 August 1982, at its emergency special session on the question of Palestine, the General Assembly, “appalled at the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression”, decided to commemorate 4 June of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (resolution ES-7/8).
The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the UN's commitment to protect the rights of children. Its work is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.
Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, speaks about the new advocacy campaign ACT to Protect Children Affected by Conflict.
Launched on 2 April 2019 by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, the campaign is a call for action and commitments to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict and ultimately end and prevent the six grave violations against children.
The campaign runs until the end of 2022.
Why Do We Mark International Days?
International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. More information available here.
https://www.un.org/en/events/childvictimday/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
