Russia on UN 'List of Shame' for Child Killings

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Facts

  • The United Nations has put the Russian military on its annual children's rights blacklist of countries for killing children and attacking hospitals and schools in Ukraine.1
  • According to the report, 477 children were killed in Ukraine last year, with 136 attributed to Russian forces and affiliated groups and 80 to Ukrainian forces. Another 909 were maimed in the conflict, 518 by Russia and proxy groups, and 175 by Ukraine.2
  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine" committed in 2022.3
  • The annual report to the UN Security Council reports on incidents such as killing, maiming, sexual abuse, abduction, and the targeting of hospitals and schools.4
  • Several Human rights organizations have criticized the fact that Israel was left off the list, despite reportedly killing more than 40 Palestinian children last year. Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour on Thursday called the UN's decision to leave Israel off the list a "big mistake."5
  • According to the report, 42 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces and 933 were injured in 2022, though Guterres did note a "meaningful decrease" in "children killed by Israeli forces, including by air strikes" from the year prior. Israel has never been included on any past UN lists for the same criteria.5

Sources: 1PBS NewsHour, 2France 24, 3The Moscow Times, 4Reuters, and 5Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. By including Russian forces on the shame list, the UN is holding the Kremlin's forces accountable for disturbing violations against children. Russia has indiscriminately attacked hospitals, schools, apartment buildings, and other civilian structures, killing hundreds of Ukrainian children.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Canary. This report has hypocrisies. Ukraine has also committed violations against children and was not included on this list, and neither is Israel. Instead of being a nonpartisan report on children in conflict zones, this list is politically motivated — giving American allies like Ukraine and Israel a free pass.

Predictions