A Deadly Year For Children In Conflict Zones

A boy holds a rifle as he attends a rally of Houthi movement supporters to mark the Ashura in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10. (Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

DW: UNICEF: 2019 ends 'deadly decade' for children in conflict zones

The United Nations has documented 170,000 grave violations against children over the past decade. Millions more have lost their childhood and future through conflict.

Millions of children across the world are entering a new decade facing the devastating consequences of violence in conflict zones, UNICEF said on Monday.

The United Nations' children's agency has documented 170,000 grave violations against minors since 2010, including killing, maiming, abduction, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups.

Read more: Children at risk of 'new threats' like climate change, warns UNICEF

From Afghanistan and Mali to Syria and Yemen, conflicts are costing millions of children their health, education, future and lives, UNICEF said.

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More News On UNICEF's Report On Children In Conflict Zones

2019 concludes a ‘deadly decade’ for children in conflict, with more than 170,000 grave violations verified since 2010 -- UNICEF
Deadly decade: UNICEF reports three-fold rise in verified attacks on children since 2010 -- UN News
UNICEF: More than 10,000 children suffered war zone violence first half of 2019 -- UPI
Children suffering as number of countries in conflict is highest in 30 years, UNICEF says -- CNN
Three-fold rise in attacks on children in war areas since 2010 -- Al Jazeera

The Taliban War Against Afghanistan's Schools Escalates

Class 11 Afghan girl students attend a class at Zarghona high school in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

DW: Attacks on Afghan schools nearly triple, warns UNICEF

A sharp rise in attacks on schools in Afghanistan is preventing a generation of children from getting an education, UNICEF reports. Threats from the Taliban and "Islamic State" mean hundreds of schools remain shuttered.

Schoolgirls sitting in a classroom in Kandahar

Attacks on schools in Afghanistan almost tripled in 2018, the United Nations children's fund UNICEF warned Tuesday.

The number of incidents rose from 68 in 2017 to 192 last year — the first time an increase has been recorded since 2015.

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WNU Editor: The UNICEF report is here .... Afghanistan sees three-fold increase in attacks on schools in one year (UNICEF).

More News On Attacks On Afghan Schools Tripling

Afghanistan sees three-fold increase in attacks on schools in one year – UNICEF -- UNICEF
'Education under fire' as attacks on Afghan schools jump, UNICEF says -- Reuters
Attacks against Afghan schools soar, says UNICEF -- AFP
'Senseless': attacks on schools soar in Afghanistan – report -- The Guardian
Attacks by Extremists on Afghan Schools Triple, Report Says -- The New York Times

UNICEF: Children Under Attack At Shocking Scale In Conflicts Around The World

DW: UNICEF: 2017 a 'nightmare year' for children caught in war zones

According to UNICEF, 2017 was one of the worst years for children caught in conflicts and besieged areas. From being deployed as human shields to acting as suicide bombers, children have become targets on a huge scale.

Warring parties in 2017 had a blatant disregarded for international law when it came to the protection of children, an official from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.

A UNICEF report found that in conflict-ridden regions across the world, high numbers of children had been killed, used as human shields and recruited to fight.

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More News On The UNICEF Report That Outlines How Children in Conflict Zones Suffer from Shocking Levels of Violence

Children under attack at shocking scale in conflicts around the world, says UNICEF -- UNICEF
A Look at the Most Dangerous Places for Children in 2017 -- NYT
Unicef says scale of attacks on children in conflicts is shocking -- BBC
Children in Conflict Suffer from Shocking Levels of Violence -- Voice of America
UNICEF: Children suffer at shocking scale in conflicts -- Al Jazeera

UNICEF: Child malnutrition at 'all-time high' in Yemen

Photo: © UNICEF/UNI196758/Mahyoob

UNICEF: Malnutrition amongst children in Yemen at an all-time high, warns UNICEF

SANA'A, 12 December 2016 – Nearly 2.2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. At least 462,000 children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a drastic increase of almost 200 per cent since 2014. An additional 1.7 million children suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition.

The situation of severely malnourished children in Governorates such as Hodeida, Sa’ada, Taizz, Hajjah and Lahej is most critical. These five governorates put together have the highest of all SAM cases in the country. Sa’ada also has the world’s highest stunting rates amongst children with an unprecedented eight out of 10 children in some areas being chronically malnourished.

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Update #1: 2.2 million Yemen children acutely malnourished: UN (Al Arabiya/AFP)
Update #2: Child malnutrition at ‘all-time high’ in Yemen, UNICEF claims in alarming report (RT)

WNU Editor: This is a story that deserves far more attention than what it is receiving.

UNICEF Reports That 50 Million Children Are Refugees Worldwide

DW: UNICEF reports 28 million children homeless globally due to conflict

About 28 million children are homeless globally due to violent conflict. Almost the same number have had to abandon their homes in search of a better life, according to a new UNICEF report.

Children make up about a third of the world's population, but account for almost half of all refugees UNICEF said in its report issued on Tuesday. The number of child refugees has doubled in the last decade, the report "Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children" states.

"What's important is that these children on the move are children. And they should be treated as children," said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Director of Programs in Geneva. "They deserve to be protected. They need access to services, such as education."

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More News On UNICEF Reporting That 50 Million Children Are Refugees Worldwide

Nearly 50 million children “uprooted” worldwide –- UNICEF
UNICEF Says 28 Million Children Uprooted by Global Conflict -- AP
Nearly 50 Million Children Are Refugees, Unicef Report Finds -- NYT
Nearly half of all refugees are children, says Unicef -- The Guardian
UNICEF: 50 Million Children Displaced Worldwide -- VOA
Nearly 50 million children are refugees or migrants, says UNICEF -- CNN
50 million children displaced worldwide, UNICEF reports -- UPI
UNICEF: 11 Million Children Are Refugees and Asylum-Seekers -- Time
UNICEF: 50 million children uprooted by crises -- Al Jazeera

UNICEF: 460 Million Children Live In Countries Facing War, Famine, And Other Catastrophes

Internally displaced children run inside a refugee camp in Dana town after fleeing Palmyra, in northern Idlib province, Syria April 2, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS/KHALIL ASHAWI

Annalisa Merelli, Quartz: Half a billion of our children are growing up in war, famine and other catastrophes

An estimated 462 million children of school age live in countries affected by humanitarian crises—including war, famine, and deadly epidemics—a UNICEF report published on May 4 found.

It’s an astonishing number, nearly one and a half times the total population of the US. For many of these children, living in crisis translates into a severe disruption of their education.

In Syria, for instance, at least 6,000 schools have been destroyed, taken over by military operations or repurposed. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, seven million children are missing out on education. Less than 30% of girls are literate in Nepal, and only 38% of children go to school in Liberia. Official enrollment data is missing for most of the world.

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More News On UNICEF Claims That 460 Million Children Live In Countries Facing War, Famine, And Other Catastrophes

Nearly a quarter of the world’s school-age children live in crisis-hit countries – UNICEF -- UN News Centre
Quarter of school-age children live in crisis affected countries: UNICEF -- Reuters
Unicef Says 75 Million School-Aged Children In Crisis Areas In Desperate Need Of Educational Support -- IBTimes
Unicef: 75m children in desperate need of education support -- BBC

UNICEF: Syrian War Has Created 2.4 Million Child Refugees

New York Times: One-Third of Children in Syria Were Born During War, Unicef Report Finds

One-third of all Syrian children were born in the five years that conflict has convulsed their country, the United Nations said on Monday in a report that suggests a new lost generation.

More than 300,000 of these children, who total about 3.7 million, were born as refugees, according to the report by Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund. It said their lives had been “shaped by violence, fear and displacement.”

In all, Unicef estimated that 8.4 million Syrian children, or 80 percent of Syria’s 18-and-under population, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid either in Syria or in neighboring countries.

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More News From UNICEF That The Syrian War Has Created 2.4 Million Child Refugees

1 in 3 Syrian children has grown up knowing only crisis as conflict reaches 5 year point -– UNICEF
Syrian war creates child refugees and child soldiers: report -- Reuters
More than 80 percent of Syria children harmed by war -- AP
Syria: No place for children -- DW
UNICEF says Syrian conflict has created 2.4m child refugees -- RTE
Nearly 4 Million Syrian Children Born Into War Risk Becoming 'Lost Generation': UNICEF -- Newsweek
Syria war creates 2.4 million child refugees, UN says -- Sydney Morning Herald
1 in 3 Syrian children know nothing but war: UNICEF -- AFP

Unicef Shows The Impact On Children Of The Conflicts Of The Last 70 Years (Photo Gallery)

Tears: A young boy holds a crying child in a camp for displaced persons in Kavaja, Albania circa 1945. In 2015 in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a crying child is comforted near Gevgelija. Unicef says long and uncertain journeys leave children frightened and vulnerable

Daily Mail: Young lives torn apart by seven decades of war: Heartbreaking images released by Unicef show the impact on children of the conflicts of the last 70 years

* Nearly 1 in 4 migrants, refugees arriving in Europe are children
* Founded in 1946, Unicef first helped refugee children after WWII
* Europe was experiencing it largest population movements in its history
* 70 years later, Unicef is witnessing remarkably similar scenes in the same places

It's become a byword for children's rights throughout the world.

Founded in 1946, Unicef - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund - has been coming to the aid of children suffering from poverty and fleeing violence for 70 years.

Now the organisation has released a series of pictures from their archive to highlight the stark similarities between the children they were set up to aid and their current charges.

WNU Editor: Some things never change.

UNICEF: In 2015 1 In 8 Babies Were Born In Conflict Zones

UNICEF: More than 16 million babies born into conflict this year: UNICEF

NEW YORK, 17 December 2015 – More than 16 million babies were born in conflict zones in 2015 – 1 in 8 of all births worldwide this year – UNICEF said today, a figure that underscores the vulnerability faced by increasing numbers of children.

“Every two seconds, a newborn takes its first breath in the midst of conflict, often in terrifying circumstances and without access to medical care,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Too many children are now starting their lives in extreme circumstances – from conflict to natural disasters, poverty, disease or malnutrition. Can there be a worse start in life?”

More News On UNICEF's Report That 1 In 8 Babies Were Born In Conflict Zones In 2015

Every two seconds, a baby is born in a conflict zone – UNICEF -- UN News Centre
UNICEF: 1 in 8 Babies Born in Conflict Zones in 2015 -- VOA/Reuters
One in 8 bubs born in war zones in '15 -- 7 News
UNICEF Urges More Global Efforts on Vulnerable Children in 2016 -- CRIEnglish

UNICEF: 2014 'A Devastating Year For Millions Of Children'

Unicef Calls 2014 One Of Worst Years On Record for World’s Children -- New York Times

The year 2014 has been one of the worst on record for the world’s children, the United Nations said on Monday in a report that chronicled a litany of war, violence, atrocities and disease, mostly in the Middle East and Africa.

Up to 15 million children are directly entangled in violent conflicts in the Central African Republic, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine, said the report by the United Nations Children’s Fund, or Unicef.

Globally, the report said, an estimated 230 million children live in countries and areas riven by armed conflicts.

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More News On UNICEF's Report That 2014 Has Been 'A Devastating Year For Millions Of Children'

With 15 million children caught up in major conflicts, UNICEF declares 2014 a devastating year for children -- Unicef
UNICEF declares 2014 ‘a devastating year' for millions of children trapped by conflict -- UN News Centre
U.N. declares 2014 a devastating year for millions of children -- Reuters
2014 'devastating' for children - UNICEF -- RTE
2014 Year of Horror, Despair for Children: UNICEF Report -- Sputnik

UNICEF: Syria Among 'Most Dangerous Places On Earth' For Children

Syrian War Takes Devastating Toll on Children -- Voice of America

GENEVA — The United Nations Children's Fund is calling attention to the affect that three years of conflict has had on Syria's young people, saying the crisis is the "most damaging conflict for children in the region's recent history."

According to a new UNICEF report released Tuesday, 5.5 million Syrian children now need assistance because of the war -- a number that has more than doubled in the past year. Among the hardest hit, it says are one million children living under siege and in hard to reach areas in Syria.

The report says of January, violence has killed more than 10,000 children in Syria, who are often are not accidental victims of war, but rather deliberately targeted. Witnesses say children and infants have been killed by snipers, or become victims of summary executions or torture. Schools have been bombed.

UNICEF highlighted what it called "deep developmental and emotional scars" left by the fighting.

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More News On UNICEF's Report That The Syrian Civil War Is Having A Devastating Impact On Children

Number of children affected by conflict in Syria has doubled since last year - UN -- UN News Centre
Syria crisis: Number of children in need doubles to 5.5 million -- BBC
Syria war keeping half nation's kids out of school -- CBS/AP
UN: 2.8 million Syrian children out of school -- AP
Syria among ‘most dangerous places on Earth’ -- Al Arabiya/Reuters
Number of children affected by Syrian war doubled in last year, says UNICEF -- Deutsche Welle
Syria: fears of a lost generation as UN and World Vision highlight cost of war -- The Guardian
Syria conflict affects 5.5 million children -- Global Post/AFP
Syrian children suffering most, UNICEF says -- UPI
40% of Syria children out of school -- Independent.ie
Syria's Children Suffering, Dying Three Years Into Conflict -- NBC
Up To 1 Million Children Trapped In Besieged Syrian Cities: UNICEF -- TRNS