On 9 March, 2017, a 15-year-old boy was killed by national security forces during a clash with alleged Lashkar-e-Tayyiba elements in Padgampora village, Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Jharkhand, suspected Naxalites attacked a school in Khunti district, destroying it partially.
Mentioning these two incidents, the United Nations, in the annual report (pdf file) of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) — released on Wednesday — stated that more than 10,000 children were killed or got injured in conflict last year while more than 8,000 were recruited or used as combatants across the globe. The report covers 20 countries, including Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, India, the Philippines and Nigeria.
UN chief António Guterres — according to a statement issued by his spokesperson – is outraged with reports of more than 21,000 violations committed against children in 2017. It is a significant increase compared to previous years, the statement says. “Despite some progress, the level of violations remains unacceptable.”
In India, it was observed in the report, children continued to be affected by incidents of violence between armed groups and the government. Not just injury and death, children were also reported to be recruited by the armed groups fighting a war against the State. There were also the mention of “unverified reports” of children being used as spies and informants by the security forces.
“With regard to military use, the occupation of over 20 schools was documented by the Central Reserve Police Force in Srinagar, Kashmir, in April. Increased tensions in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly also led to school closures for varying periods, including in Rajouri (65) and Poonch (76)”, the report says. This was especially the case in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and during tensions in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Naxalites reportedly resorted to the use of a lottery system to conscript children in Jharkhand. In addition, three incidents of the recruitment and use of children were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the context of clashes with national security forces. One case was attributed to Jaish-i-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen.”
Although government data showed that 188 civilians were killed in Naxalite-affected regions, there were no separate figures to indicate how many of them were children.
Human right activist Sujato Bhadra said “Many terror outfits have used children across the globe be it LTTE in Sri Lanka or several rebel groups in Africa. In India, both parties – the state and the armed outfits – are using children either on the forefront of any attack or in gathering intelligence details. Children do not arouse much suspicion in the opponents. Basically, human rights including child rights have been grossly violated in violence-hit areas by both state security forces and armed groups fighting against the state.”
Author Paro Anand said: “Innocence is the main victim of violence. We talk of collateral damage without a real understanding of what it means. Children lose their present and their future. They lose their hope. I have been to places of conflict where children have lost their imagination. Have lost their stories, their songs. Innocence is the victim every time a shot is fired.”
