War on children

The latest UN report citing violence against children in conflict zones paints a harrowing picture of the world we currently live in. According to the report, abuses against children in armed conflict reached "unprecedented levels" in 2024, with around 36,000 grave violations verified in just one year. The number of grave violations surged by 25 per cent this year, shattering last year's record which had already marked a 21 per cent rise from the year before. This devastating pattern reveals a sinister truth about our present climate: the global conscience towards innocent lives is also deteriorating at unprecedented levels.

Behind every number is a child from Palestine, Lebanon, Congo, Somalia, Haiti, and many other places from all corners of the world who has been robbed of a normal life - or even a life at all. Children are no longer the collateral of war, but rather deliberate targets as schools and hospitals have been bombed incessantly. Places that were once protected under international law are open targets as the rule of law has now become hollow. The war on Gaza alone has killed over 1,200 children. In Sudan, gender-based violence service providers have verified more than 220 reported cases of child rape, including some as young as one. Haiti has witnessed a gruesome 1,000 per cent rise in sexual violence against children - a tenfold rise from 2023.

The annual report outlines a "blacklist" of countries committing these abuses, including Israel for the second time in a row, Haitian gang coalition Viv Ansanm, and Columbian drug cartel Clan del Golfo, among others. But unfortunately, a 'blacklist' alone does little to deter impunity. Unless consequences are enforced onto the violators, merely naming them renders justice performative. International outrage has become cyclical and meaningless, and the children are paying its price.