Recently, the United Nations Security Council held an open debate under the theme of “Child and Armed Conflict”. It is about putting an end to war, dispute and armed conflict gravely infringing upon children’s rights.

The UN Secretary-General issued 2021 Report on “Child and Armed Conflict” during the debate. He scathingly denounced the killing of children, kidnapping children, sexual violence against children, recruitment and use of children and attacks on schools and hospitals committed in some countries. He appealed for immediate measures taken against child abuses.

Meanwhile, the majority of the participants strongly asserted that the U.S. and the West’s act of interference in internal affairs and unilateral coercive sanctions that cause war, dispute and humanitarian crisis and ruthlessly trample upon the children’s rights, should be eradicated.

According to the 2021 Report of the UN Secretary-General on “Child and Armed Conflict”, about 20,000 children around the world fell victim to war, dispute and armed conflict in the last one year.

Particularly, in Afghanistan, more than 7,700 children have been mercilessly killed by military occupation and indiscriminate military operations by the U.S. troops. In this country, the death rate of children is 638 per 10,000, children suffering from chronic malnutrition are 38% and the number of children who were killed or maimed in the last year reached as many as 2,340.

In Iraq, hundreds of children were killed or disabled and in Libya, dozens. Those countries are still suffering from disasters brought by the U.S. and the West. Hundreds of children were also killed in Palestine by indiscriminate shelling and rocket attacks from Israel.

In these countries, a large number of school-aged children have never entered the school gates, and seek refuge, wandering around begging. Such a grim reality has raised a serious concern from the international society.

The latest debate and the open facts served as an occasion for clearly testifying once again that the U.S. and the Western countries are the main culprits in destroying the future of humankind while indulging in wars and conflicts in many parts of the world under the pretext of the “removal of WMDs” and “counter- terrorism”.

Despite all these facts, the U.S. and the West are still misleading the public opinion as if the governments of some countries including Afghanistan, Syria and Palestine should be held accountable for the instable situation and the humanitarian crisis. They are also behaving impudently, talking about respect for international law including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, investigation into crimes, punishment and sanctions.

The U.S. and the Western countries are the most heinous chief criminals violating the human rights and the disturbers of world peace which trample underfoot the rights to life, existence and development of children - the pillars of the future and the development of the country and nation-and inflict on them all sorts of misery and pain.

History will keep close tabs on and make a stern judgment on the gravest crimes committed by the U.S. and the West which flagrantly violate and obliterate even the rights of children.

Kim In Guk

Researcher of Korean Association for Human Rights Studies