“More than One Billion Children Worldwide Suffer from Violence”
The relief organization “World Vision” has announced that in armed conflicts in critical zones around the world, the safety of children is not being respected. This relief organization has called upon the German government to make efforts to improve the conditions of children in these areas.
The list of military conflicts globally is very long: Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan are among the countries where military conflicts continue intensely. In such circumstances, children suffer the most and are exposed to harm.
The relief organization “World Vision” has warned that in conflicts, child safety is always given less attention. Christoph Waffenschmidt, the board chairman of this relief organization, believes that “children are increasingly being exposed to the most severe forms of war violence.”
Waffenschmidt, who presented this relief organization’s annual report in the city of Berlin, explained that it is no longer taboo for insurgents, terrorist groups, or military forces of countries to attack children’s schools, and it has lost its moral repugnance.
According to the German news agency, the relief organization announced that in this regard, 51 percent of schools in South Sudan have been destroyed. Additionally, 40 percent of children killed in Syria lost their lives near their own schools.
Thousands of Child Soldiers – New Recruits
Christoph Waffenschmidt speaks about child soldiers in crisis-stricken areas of the world: “Children are sexually abused; they are maimed. Children are used as child soldiers and also as suicide bombers.”
More than one billion children worldwide face various types of violence. In Nigeria, for example, in 2015, 21 children were used as suicide bombers, and in the same year globally, six thousand child soldiers were recruited by these groups.
The relief organization “World Vision” believes that currently there are 38 critical zones around the world with dangerous conflicts.
This relief organization is calling for greater protection of children in critical and war-affected areas. Christoph Waffenschmidt, describing the conditions of these children, says: “These children have even been left to oblivion by politicians themselves.”
The relief organization “World Vision” is calling upon the German government, among other demands, to halt the export of small arms, support schools for children in critical areas of the world, and help children who have suffered psychological injuries as a result of violent encounters.
This relief organization has also asked the United Nations to finally publish the list known as the “Shame List.” This global organization fears the threats of Persian Gulf Arab countries and does not publish this list.
These countries have threatened to cut off their aid to relief organizations of the United Nations if the attacks by the coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia on Yemen are criticized by the United Nations.
Source: DW
