The United Nations is set to include Israel and Hamas on its global list of entities accused of violating children’s rights and protections.A UN spokesperson confirmed to AP News that Israeli authorities have been notified of this decision.The announcement comes ahead of the UN’s annual report submission to the Security Council next week when the UN Secretary-General António Guterres will add Israel and Hamas the annual global list of countries and groups violating children’s rights in armed conflicts.
Other countries on the list include Russia, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar and Iraq.Thousands of Palestinian children have been killed during Israel’s invasion of Gaza that began after the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas and other militants on Israel, though estimates of the precise number vary.The decision has further strained relations between the UN and Israel, which have been deteriorating since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza commenced after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, took to X to express his fury at the secretary-general’s decision to add Israel to the “blacklist.”I received the official notification about the Secretary-General’s decision to put the IDF on the “blacklist” of countries and organizations that harm children. This is simply outrageous and wrong because Hamas has been using children for terrorism and uses schools and hospitals… pic.twitter.com/o1civfJFAk— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) June 7, 2024
Erdan condemned the decision on X, saying, “The only one who is blacklisted today is the secretary-general whose decisions since the war started and even before are rewarding terrorists and incentivizing them to use children for terror acts.”In May, Erdan stoked controversy during a General Assembly emergency special session when he pulled out a portable shredder and symbolically destroyed the UN Charter.
