Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Tuesday 10 July 2018

UN: 1 in 4 children live in country of conflict or disaster

By EDITH M. LEDERER ment by extremists and
Associated Press armed groups.”
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A Virginia Gamba, the U.N.
quarter of the world’s chil- special representative for
dren — about 535 million children and armed con-
— are living in a country flict, said she is “profound-
affected by conflict or di- ly shocked” by the more
saster, the head of the than 21,000 violations of
U.N. children’s agency said children’s rights in 2017 re-
Monday. cently reported by the U.N.,
Henrietta Fore told a Securi- a significant increase from
ty Council meeting on chil- 2016.
dren and armed conflict “The majority of these de-
that it is “almost beyond spicable acts were perpe-
comprehension” that one trated by armed groups al-
of every four young people though government forces
are caught in that situation. and unknown armed ac-
She pointed to children tors played an important
and young people whose part,” she said. “Each and
lives are being shattered every one of them led to
by conflicts, including in unspeakable suffering for
Yemen, Mali and South Su- children, families and entire
dan. She also cited young- communities.”
sters recruited to fight, killed Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven addresses media at the Security Council chamber at U.N. Gamba said the level and
by a land mine or an attack headquarters where he chaired a debate on children and armed conflict Monday, July 9, 2018. severity of the latest vio-
on their school, and “losing Associated Press lations demonstrate the
hope not only in their fu- ter Stefan Lofven, who pre- ed with armed forces and he said. need for united action “to
tures, but in the futures of sided at the meeting, said, armed groups.” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Hal- change the tide of history,”
their countries.” stressing that “350 million Lofven said the resolution ey told the council that including by focusing on
Sweden, which holds the children are affected by also for the first time makes “more than 60 percent of prevention and reintegra-
Security Council presiden- armed conflict today.” the point that the needs people in conflict-affected tion “to break cycles of vio-
cy this month, organized The resolution states for and vulnerabilities of girls countries are under the lence” against children.q
the open meeting on the the first time that children and boys are different and age of 25.” In countries like
theme “Protecting Children recruited or caught up in stresses that access for all Afghanistan, an entire gen-
Today Prevents Conflict To- armed conflict should be youngsters to education eration has never lived in
morrow” and sponsored a treated primarily as victims, and physical and mental peace, she said.
resolution unanimously ad- he said. health care is essential. She stressed the impor-
opted by the 15 members It urges all countries “to It also sets out a framework tance of education as “a
to strengthen U.N. actions consider non-judicial mea- to reintegrate children way to recover from con-
to ensure the care and sures as alternatives to associated with armed flict and prevent it in the fu-
safety of youngsters. prosecution and detention groups or armed forces into ture,” warning that children
“We are not doing nearly that focus on the rehabili- society, which “places chil- who grow up uneducated,
enough to protect our chil- tation and reintegration for dren as part of the solution, unskilled and resentful “will
dren,” Swedish Prime Minis- children formerly associat- not part of the problem,” be prime targets for recruit-