Children continue to be 'disproportionately' affected by armed conflicts: Türkiye

WASHINGTON

Türkiye's ambassador to the UN expressed concern Wednesday over children who are "disproportionately" affected by armed conflicts around the world.

"Children continue to be adversely and disproportionately affected by the prevailing security protection and humanitarian challenges caused by armed conflicts around the world," Ahmet Yildiz told a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict.

Referring to a recent report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Yildiz said the conflict in Israel and Palestine alone led to an increase in grave violations of 155%.

"I will not repeat the numbers, but the numbers of that in this conflict and other violations and the nature of the cruelty in this conflict in Gaza are unsurpassed and unprecedented. I am afraid the numbers may be much more than verified in the report due to the situation on the ground," he added.

The ambassador stressed that there is no solution for Palestinian children other than a permanent cease-fire, unhindered humanitarian aid and the resumption of education.

Turning to the conflict in Syria, Yildiz said the suffering of children continues "unabated" due to the grave violations by the Assad regime and terrorist organizations such as the PKK/YPG and its offshoot, the so-called SDF.

Stressing that the report registers some of the grave violations perpetrated by the terrorist organization and points out the increase in the recruitment and use of children by SDF, Yildiz said the latest report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic also confirms that the terrorist organization is the "primary perpetrator" of violations and serious crimes against children in Syria.

"The facts on grave violations of this terrorist organization are crystal clear; therefore, expecting a terrorist organization to be bound by commitments of an international framework -- the so-called 2019 Action Plan -- is an illusion," he said.

The PKK and its offshoots’ grave violations against children are not limited to Syria, the ambassador said, adding that they continue these violations in Iraq by killing, maiming and abducting children.

"They recruit and use children as soldiers and also stand as an obstacle to the provision of better public services and infrastructure investments in the localities where they are present," he added.

Stressing that the terrorist organization also exploits the vacuum of authority to target Türkiye from Iraqi soil, Yildiz said that only last year, the PKK conducted 1,084 attacks on Türkiye from Iraq.

"This is a matter of national security, and taking this opportunity, I would like to register the position of my country with regards to the ungrounded allegations in the report on my country’s counter-terrorism operations in Syria and in Iraq," he said, adding Türkiye is obliged to take appropriate measures against terrorist threats in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

"These operations are conducted in full compliance with international law and international humanitarian law and with utmost attention and care to avoid any harm to civilians, including children, and civilian infrastructure," he added.

Turning to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Yildiz also expressed concern over the children there and added that Türkiye, in cooperation with UNICEF, has hosted nearly 2,000 orphans and their caregivers since March 2022.

"Türkiye attaches utmost importance to the agenda of the UN which addresses the situation of children in armed conflict and is ready to support efforts for the prevention and protection of children," he added.