World standing by as kids harmed by conflict: charity

GOVERNMENTS were on Thursday urged to do more to protect children from the effects of war and serious violence, after a new report suggested record numbers were living in a conflict zone.

Save the Children said wars were becoming more dangerous for children, with youngsters facing an increased risk of death and injury, being recruited by armed groups or sexual abuse.

“It’s staggering that the world stands by while children are targeted with impunity,” the charity’s chief executive Inger Ashing said in a statement to accompany the report.

“Since 2005, at least 95,000 children were recorded to have been killed or maimed, tens of thousands of children abducted, and millions of children denied access to education or health services after their hospitals were attacked.”

Ashing warned that “the destruction of children’s lives” will continue if nothing is done and those responsible for crimes are not brought to account. - Record numbers The report said nearly one in six children around the world -- some 415 million children -- were living in a conflict zone in 2018, more than double the figure recorded in 1995.

Incidents of “grave violations” against them had risen by 170 percent since 2010, the “Stop the War on Children” study found.

African children were the worst affected, with 170 million living in war zones, although a higher proportion were hit in the Middle East, where almost one in three were surrounded by conflict.

The report also found record numbers of children being subjected to grave violations: killing and maiming; recruitment by armed forces; abduction; attacks on schools or hospitals; denial of humanitarian access; and rape and other forms of sexual violence.