UN Secretary-General Places Israel on 'Child Rights Violators' List

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, stated that Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the organization, has added the Israeli army to the list of countries and entities that violate children's rights. On Friday, June 8, Erdan called this decision 'shameful.' The ambassador mentioned that he was officially informed of this decision on Friday. This global list is updated in a report concerning the status of children and armed conflicts, which is set to be presented to the UN Security Council next week. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that this decision will impact the country's relations with the UN. The Israeli ambassador also released a video on social media showing Guterres informing him of this decision during a phone call. Erdan expressed his shock and disgust at this 'shameful decision,' asserting that the Israeli army is the most ethical army in the world, and that this unethical decision only aids terrorists and rewards Hamas. The extremist group Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. The current war in Gaza began with an attack by this extremist group on Israel on October 6 last year, resulting in 36,731 deaths according to Hamas's health ministry. Reuters reports that Stephen Dujarric, Guterres's spokesperson, declined to comment on this decision. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, 'The United Nations added itself to the black list of history when it joined in supporting the murderous members of Hamas.' Guterres's annual report on children and armed conflict addresses issues such as killings, disabilities, sexual abuse, abduction or recruitment of children, deprivation of access to aid, and targeting of schools and hospitals. It remains unclear what violations the Israeli army has committed according to this report. According to Reuters, this list is divided into two sections: parties that have taken actions to protect children and those that have not. Erdan stated that he was told Israel is on the list of parties that have not taken sufficient actions to protect children. UNICEF reports that approximately 14,000 Palestinian children have been killed in the Gaza war. This report was prepared by Virginia Gamba, Guterres's special representative for children and armed conflict. The attached list aims to create shame among the parties involved in the conflicts, hoping to prompt them to take actions to protect children. According to Israeli statistics, over 1,200 people were killed in Hamas's attack on Israeli territory, and more than 250 were taken hostage, with reports indicating that over 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.