(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) A UAE paper has said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's decision to exclude Israel from the list of countries that commit grave violations against children in armed conflict is highly disappointing.
What adds to the surprise is that the decision was taken despite the fact that Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, SRSG-CAAC, Leila Zerrougui, had recommended Israel's inclusion in the list, said the English-languge paper, The Gulf Today, in an editorial.
"The annual list is significant because it names and shames governments and insurgent groups that violate children's rights in conflicts."
According to children's rights NGO, Defence for Children International Palestine, this is believed to be the first time the Secretary-General has not accepted the recommendation of the SRSG-CAAC.
"It may be recalled that in a report circulated on Monday, Ban mentioned that the thousands of Palestinian casualties raise grave concerns about Israel's compliance with international law, including requirements that any military actions must distinguish between combatants and civilians, be proportional, and avoid excessive use of force."
The paper said that the UN chief even strongly criticised Israel for the unprecedented and unacceptable scale of its violence against young people. It is known that Israel arrests children as young as five years old and subjects them to various forms of psychological and physical torture.
"Ban's annual report to the UN Security Council and the General Assembly mentions that 2014 saw a dramatic increase in violence against children in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at least 561 youngsters killed and 4,271 injured, almost all Palestinians and the vast majority during last summer's war in Gaza.
The number of schools damaged or destroyed, at least 543, was the highest anywhere. For years, Israel has been blatantly committing human rights violations against Palestinian children.
Top UN officials themselves, noted the paper, had earlier pointed out that the unprecedented human, social and physical devastation during the July/August 2014 hostilities had a particular impact on children and many were in need of psycho-social support.
"Some Palestinian children were hurt so badly that they will have to live the rest of their lives with disabilities. The surprise decision gives an impression that the UN chief has buckled under pressure from Israel and its close ally, Washington. The exclusion of Tel Aviv from the list will only encourage the occupying forces to commit more violations against innocent Palestinian children," concluded The Gulf Today.
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