International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

Every day, children living in wars around the world face unspeakable horrors. They are not safe while sleeping at home, playing outdoors, studying at school, or seeking medical care in hospitals. From murder, mutilation, recruitment, kidnapping, violence and sexual exploitation to attacks on educational and health facilities, to the denial of desperately needed humanitarian aid, children are caught in the crosshairs of parties to the conflict at a rate astonishing magnitude.

Wars cause multiple additional deprivations, such as hunger, disease and poverty. The UNICEF report confirms that every year the number of proven rapes of boys and girls affected by war increases. These figures represent a terrible tragedy for a boy or girl, for a family or a community. This is a call to STOP attacks on children.