International Day of Innocent Children — victims of aggression (04/06)

On August 19, 1982, at its emergency special session on the question of Palestine, the UN General Assembly, « shocked by the huge number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children — victims of Israeli acts of aggression», by its resolution (№ ES–7/8) decided to celebrate June 4 of each year as International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

The day is celebrated on the anniversary of the first Israeli air raid on Beirut and several other Lebanese settlements, carried out on June 4, 1982, during which a large number of civilians, including children, were killed.

Touching on the topic of children and their future, it is impossible today not to remember that there are children who do not have a real — these are children in the zone of military conflicts. It is unlikely that statistics are kept that take into account how many children die during local conflicts around the world.

The sad reality is that when armed conflicts arise, the most vulnerable members of society suffer the most from the consequences of hostilities — children. The six most common offences committed against children are the recruitment and use of children in hostilities, murder, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals and denial of humanitarian access to children.

To ensure that the public does not forget that not only soldiers die during wars, the UN has established International Children's Day — for innocent victims of aggression, and the purpose of this Day is to try to feel the pain and suffering of children around the world who are subjected to physical violence, moral -psychic and spiritual processing. This Day reaffirms the UN's commitment to protecting their rights.

But children die not only in war zones. The wave of terrorist attacks unprecedented in immorality that has passed around the world, which has also claimed many lives of innocent children, has marked a new dimension of the threat posed by international terrorism to all humanity.

According to the UN, the number of offenses committed against children in many conflict zones has increased in recent years. Much more should be done to protect the 250 million children who live in conflict-affected countries and territories. Much remains to be done to protect children from attacks by violent extremism, to promote international humanitarian and human rights law, and to ensure that those who violate children's rights are held accountable.

In recent years, the issue of protecting children in armed conflict has been a constant focus of international attention. Important documents were approved. Among them are the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in hostilities.

A mechanism for continuous monitoring and reporting on the situation of children in areas of armed conflict has been established and is in operation at the United Nations. All these efforts are bearing fruit: in recent years, many minors have been removed from armed forces or armed groups and successfully reintegrated into peaceful life.

The UN notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a major impact on the United Nations' ability to work to end and prevent serious violations against children and has significantly reduced opportunities to engage with parties to conflict, although dialogue has continued to the extent possible.

On the International Day of Innocent Children – of Victims of Aggression, various information and charity events are held, during which assistance is collected for children living in war territories. On this day, all people on the planet remember children who died from hostilities, at the hands of murderers and terrorists.

Let us remind you that June 1 is celebrated worldwide as Children's Day, and May 25 is International Day of Missing Children.



Infographics – poster «4 June – International Day of Innocent Children – victims of aggression»

2140