Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 4th April. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on Monday said that child casualties in Ukraine have hit a “tragic milestone” as the UN human rights office released its latest report on rising numbers of deaths and injuries in the country since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Since the escalation of the war, at least 501 children have been killed,” said Catherine Russell. “This is another tragic milestone for Ukraine’s children and families.”
OHCHR’s latest update recorded 765 civilian casualties in Ukraine, from 1 to 31 March, which included 178 deaths and 587 injuries.
The office recorded 22,607 civilian casualties: 8,451 deaths and 14,156 injuries.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said “These figures are just the tip of the iceberg,”
“Most of the casualties resulted from the Russian forces’ use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighbourhoods.”
He said international law is being violated daily, adding that his Office has documented such crimes as summary executions, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, and other grave violations.
Ms. Russell said children and families in Ukraine are “paying the highest price for this brutal war”.
“Behind every number is a family torn apart and changed forever; it’s heart-wrenching,” she said.
UNICEF is providing children with critical assistance, including psychosocial care and support.
The agency’s analysis suggested the percentage of children living in poverty has doubled from 43 per cent to 82 per cent.
The situation is acute for the 5.9 million people who are currently displaced within Ukraine.
Children and families’ access to basic services have been severely curtailed.
Some 1.5 million children are at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health issues, with potential long-term effects and implications.
Over 800 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by shelling and airstrikes.
UNICEF said thousands of children fleeing the conflict across Ukraine are missing vital vaccines to protect them from polio, measles, diphtheria, and other life-threatening diseases.
UNICEF and its partners has provided learning supplies to 1.8 million children and engaged over 2.5 million children in education programmes.
It provided mental health and psychosocial support to 4.6 million children and caregivers, gender-based violence response services to 725,000 women and children, access to safe water for 5.6 million people, healthcare services to 5.4 million, and multi-purpose cash assistance to 277,000 households inside Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries.
“Ultimately, children and families need peace; it cannot come soon enough,” Ms. Russell said.
“War is always the worst enemy of children, whether in Ukraine, or countless other conflicts around the world.”
She said “Every child, no matter where they live, deserves to grow up in a peaceful environment.
“No child should experience a childhood scarred by violence and fear,” she added.
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