A high level meeting of the UN Security Council has started in New York to have an open debate on children and armed conflict with the theme “Protecting Children Today Prevents Conflict Tomorrow””Protection of Children in Armed Conflicts”. According to reports the UN Secretary General’s annual report on children and armed conflicts will be presented in the meeting. The Council is also expected to adopt a resolution on the issue. As per a Security Council Report, twenty one thousand grave violations of children’s rights were verified last year, which shows a twenty seven percent increase as compared to the earlier year. One hopes that the council members will come up with a comprehensive policy and tangible solution to address this issue, which has turned into a grave challenge for the world at large.
It is quite unfortunate to see that this highly vulnerable segment of the society has been worst victim of violence in conflict zones and war-torn regions all across the world, however, in disputed territories like Kashmir and Palestine the situation is not less grievous than the other regions. In Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which happens to be the World’s highest militarized zone, the children are forced to live under the boom barrels. The constant fear they live in has badly ruined their lives. The long-drawn conflict has not only affected their physical and mental health but it has taken a heavy toll on their education. During the past three decades hundreds of thousands of children who were orphaned have been had deprived most of them of parental benevolence and better educational facilities. According to sources 107,717 children have been orphaned since 1989 as a result of Indian repression. It goes without saying that there are thousands of children whose parent had been killed by the occupation forces deployed at every nook and cranny of the State.
Kashmir has been virtually turned into a living hell for its inhabitants but the children who are facing the brunt of conflict deserve immediate attention of the world community. As the world’s most influential body is talking about this sensitive issue, it is expected that the highest body will shun its selective approach and evolve a comprehensive mechanism whereby sincere and serious efforts could be made for the protection of children living highly volatile conflicts zone all across the world. So far as the theme of the UNSC meeting is concerned, conflict resolution remains the key for the protection of children and preventing conflicts in future.
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