UN: Rhino – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, said that the situation in Sudan is catastrophic and the lives of children there are at stake.
Gamba’s remarks coincided with the publication of the UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Sudan.
In a statement released by her office late Tuesday, the UN official urged parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian objects, fully comply with international humanitarian law and engage with the UN to adopt and implement concrete child protection measures, including through action plans.
The report stated that 2,168 grave violations against 1,913 children were verified between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023, adding that this represents a shocking increase compared to the previous reporting period.
Killing and maiming (1,525 cases) was the highest verified violation, followed by recruitment and use (277) and rape and other forms of sexual violence against children (153).
A significant spike in grave violations was observed following the outbreak of hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023.
In addition, inter-tribal violence continued to cause violence against children, mostly due to conflicts between pastoralists and farmers, mostly in Darfur and Blue Nile states, according to the report.
“I am appalled at the level of violence affecting children, the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, including schools and medical facilities, and the lack of effective efforts by the parties to the conflict to facilitate humanitarian access to suffering populations, including children,” said the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
She urged all parties to immediately commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities, adding that “the future of children in Sudan depends on it.”
The report details how the war in Sudan has created unacceptable and catastrophic humanitarian consequences for children, who face hunger and the imminent threat of famine as humanitarian workers in Sudan continue to face significant obstacles in delivering humanitarian assistance.
Around 14 million children are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance and lack access to food, water, shelter, electricity, education and healthcare. In addition, about 19 million children in Sudan are out of school.
Another area of concern is the capacity gap left by the termination of the United Nations Integrated Transition Support Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the departure of the mission’s dedicated child protection staff.
This will not only affect the monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children, but will also generally reduce the presence of child protection staff on the ground, hindering engagement with parties to the conflict and efforts to mitigate and address child protection needs.
