The United Nations accuses Israel of killing 42 children in Palestine in 2022, most of them killed by fire from Chahal, the Israeli army, in a report obtained by the German Agency yesterday Thursday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on whose behalf the text was drawn up, said he was “deeply concerned” not only about the number of children “killed and maimed”, but also about the number of those arrested by Israeli forces .

He noted, however, that the number of children killed decreased (it was 78 in 2021).

The number of children mutilated in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last year reached 524 (517 in Palestine, 7 in Israel).

The UN report does not include Israel on the “list of shame”, the one with states that commit serious violations of children’s rights in armed conflicts. According to diplomatic sources, the US strongly attacked the international organization to prevent this and to soften the wording of the text as much as possible.

Russia and its “allied” forces have instead been added to this list, being blamed for the deaths of 136 of the 477 children killed in Ukraine in 2022 (80 deaths attributed to Ukrainian forces). Mr. Guterres says he is “shocked” by these numbers, by the “high number of attacks against schools, hospitals and protected personnel”, by the “mutilation of children”, which reached 909 (518 attributed to Russian forces, 175 to Ukrainian forces). .

The text notes, however, that the Russian authorities are discussing these issues with the UN and demands that they honor their “commitments to protect children” and stop the use of “schools and hospitals for military purposes” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. in February of last year

Ukrainian forces are not included in the “list of shame”, but the report warns Kiev because of the large number of “children killed and maimed in attacks against schools and hospitals” and Mr Guterres stresses that he will pay close attention to the development of the situation “in my next report”

More generally, the text refers to wide-ranging flagrant violations in other war zones (DR Congo, Somalia, Syria…). In DR Congo, the M23 (“March 23 Movement”) rebels are added to the “list of shame”, which already included the ADF (“Allied Democratic Forces”) and CODECO.

The report also mentions Haiti, much of which is ravaged by gangs, and Niger, where jihadist “armed organizations” operate, states of increasing concern and expected to be included in the forthcoming report.

Commenting on the report, Jo Becker of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed satisfaction at the inclusion of Russia on the “list of shame”, meaning that “the Secretary-General is holding it accountable for appalling violations of children’s rights’ perpetrated in the war, but criticized Israel for being left out.

“The hesitation [σ.σ. του ΓΓ του ΟΗΕ]year after year, to hold Israel accountable for the gross violations of children’s rights” it commits is “counterproductive,” HRW’s Ms. Becker explained, arguing that in effect “it encourages Israeli forces to use lethal force against children » in Palestine.