Day: July 11, 2022

The United Nations said Monday that thousands of children in war zones suffered grave abuses including rape, maiming and death last year, and that concerns are growing for children in new regions of conflict, including Ukraine.

“The fact remains that hundreds, if not thousands, of children are victims of violence in armed conflict every day of every week of every month of every year in conflict-affected states and regions,” Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, told reporters at the launch of the annual report.

The most dangerous places to be a child last year were Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Somalia and Yemen.

Gamba’s office, working with U.N. teams on the ground, verified nearly 24,000 grave violations against children. More than 8,000 were killed or maimed due to conflict, 6,310 were recruited and used in combat; and nearly 3,500 children were abducted.

Among worrying trends the report uncovered is the significant increase in abductions and sexual violence against children. Both were up 20% from 2020.

Gamba said many of the girls abducted are then trafficked, and that armed groups such as Boko Haram and West Africa’s branch of the Islamic State group target girls specifically for this purpose; it is not a random act of violence in a conflict. Ninety-eight percent of sexual violence documented in the report targeted girls.

While the vast majority of monitored violations were against boys — some 70% — overall the number of abuses against them has decreased, while girls suffered an increase in killing and maiming, abduction and rape.

“By 2020, one out of four children victims of grave violations were girls, but by 2021, one out of three are girls,” Gamba said. “The Lake Chad Basin region, which was included in children and armed conflict agenda last year, showed the most significant increase of girls affected by grave violations among all situations on the agenda.”

Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Niger and Nigeria are all part of the Lake Chad Basin region and have suffered variations of instability, intercommunal violence, terrorism and conflict.

Naming and shaming

The annual report is known for “naming and shaming” governments that mistreat children. But the 2021 report had no surprise listings.

Fifty-seven parties to conflict, seven of which are government-related actors, are mentioned, while the rest are nonstate groups.

Among the state offenders are Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, which was listed for maiming, killing and raping children. Congo’s army, the FARDC, for raping children. Syria’s government forces and pro-government militias for recruiting, killing and maiming, raping and attacking schools and/or hospitals.

A lengthy list of nonstate groups, including terrorists and rebel groups such as Islamic State, al-Qaida, Boko Haram and al-Shabab were also cited for multiple violations.

Afghanistan’s Taliban was listed for recruiting, maiming, killing and abducting children, as well as attacking schools and hospitals. Gamba said monitoring in Afghanistan in 2021 ended on Aug. 15, when the Taliban seized power after the government collapsed and the U.N. switched its focus to the humanitarian emergency. But in those first 7 1/2 months, there were nearly 3,000 verified violations against children.

“It still is one of the low points in my life to look at what is happening in Afghanistan,” Gamba said.

She said monitors have resumed their work there “however we can.”

New conflicts

The special representative’s office has now been mandated by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to immediately begin monitoring four new situations of concern: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ukraine and the Central Sahel.

On Ukraine, she is most concerned about attacks on schools and hospitals and the killing and maiming of children. Her Ukraine mandate starts immediately and includes both the protection of children and the prevention of abuses against them.

Good news

There were some positive developments in the report. Some countries that have been listed have seen improvement after signing action plans with Gamba’s office and engaging with them.

She pointed to South Sudan, which in 2018 was the second-highest offender with more than 4,000 violations against children each year.

“Today there is less than 300 a year,” Gamba said. “Why? The action plans put in place, measures put in place, laws, training, capacity that has been put in place.”

Source: Voice of America

The world’s population is expected to reach 8 billion on November 15, the United Nations said Monday, with India replacing China as the world’s most populous country.

The United Nations released its report, World Population Prospects 2022, on World Population Day, which is observed every year on July 11. This year’s theme is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all — Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all.”

Despite 2022 being a “milestone year” for global population, according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, the population growth rate fell below 1% in 2020 and is growing at its slowest pace since 1950.

The U.N. said global population could potentially reach 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion by the 2080s. The population is projected to remain steady at 10.4 billion until 2100.

More than half of the growth by 2050 is expected to come from Africa, which is the world’s fastest-growing continent, the U.N. said. The growth in Africa comes despite a slowing global fertility rate, which is expected to decline to 2.2 births per woman by 2050, down from 2.5 births in 2019, and 3.2 births in 1990.

World Population Day is a reminder of the world’s most pressing issues, including overpopulation. The current global population stands at 7.942 billion people.

Source: Voice of America

Nigerian security forces are searching for hundreds of prisoners who escaped an Abuja jail on July 5, including more than 60 convicted of terrorism. Security experts say the attack showed that Islamist militant groups thought to be rivals may be cooperating and warn more attacks are likely.

Authorities say two of the of the 64 high-profile terrorism suspects have been captured. One was caught in the nearby Nasarawa state as he fled the capital.

Last week, authorities said it had recaptured more than 400 escapees but hundreds more remain at large.

Nigerian police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi said security agencies across the country are collaborating in the search for missing inmates.

“The escape of these terrorists has put all of us on our toes to make sure they’re recaptured and taken out of circulation. We have charged members of the public to be on the lookout as well and we have been able to get two of them, all agencies are on the lookout, not only the police,” he said.

The Islamic State West Africa Province terror group said it attacked the prison last Tuesday night with guns and explosives and freed more than 870 inmates.

But security experts say among those freed were terrorists from the Boko Haram faction, raising concerns about a synergy between factions of the two terror groups.

On Friday, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps in a leaked warning to authorities noted that terrorists were planning to attack Abuja and had declared war on Christians, according to the internal memo.

Chidi Omeje is the publisher of the online newspaper Security Digest. He agrees that Abuja could see more attacks in the coming weeks.

“It’s possible, I think, Nigerians must sit up, the government must sit up, schools, churches, owners of recreational spots should be able to up their games in terms of security and defense measures,” said Omeje.

But another security analyst, Mike Ejiofor, said he believes the terror groups are still rivals, calling the threat of a joint attack a bluff.

“Those are conspiracy theories. The problem is that the various security agencies don’t have the capacity to handle these problems. As election is approaching, these groups of terrorists, the ISWAP… the Boko Haram … they don’t believe in democracy, so we’re expecting more attacks as the election campaigns approach,” said Ejiofor.

Last Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari summoned security chiefs for a national security meeting on the matter. The outcome of the meeting is yet unknown.

Experts believe terrorists who fled have regrouped in a base in north central Nigeria near Abuja.

Nigeria has been struggling to secure prisons. There have been at least 14 prison attacks in three years with over 5,000 inmates escaping. But no prison break has raised as much concern as the latest attack.

Source: Voice of America