The United Nations (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is annually observed across the globe on 4th June to recognise and acknowledge the pain suffered by children across the globe, who were the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse.
- The day focuses on the victims of the 1982 Lebanon War and remembers the innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression.
- The day also reaffirms the commitment of the UN toward protecting the rights of children.
Background:
i.On 19th August 1982, The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/ES-7/8 during its emergency special session on the question of Palestine and proclaimed the 4th June of every year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
ii.The first-ever International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression was observed on 4th June 1983.
Convention on the Rights of the Child:
i.The convention on the Rights of the Child guides the work of the UN toward the protection of children’s rights.
ii.This is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty.
Efforts to Improve the Protection of Children:
i.In 1997, the UNGA adopted the resolution A/RES/51/77 on “The Rights of the Child”, following the Graça Machel report, which highlighted the devastating impacts of armed conflicts on children.
ii.This resolution was built on existing efforts of UNGA to protect the rights of children, like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol, and the annual Rights of the Child resolutions.
iii.The UNGA also established a mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
iv.2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes a specific target 16.2: to end all forms of violence against children, and ending the abuse, neglect and exploitation of children is mainstreamed across several other violence-related targets.
