2019: Final year of a deadly decade for children
Killing. Maiming. Abduction. Sexual violence. Recruitment into armed groups. As children across the world enter a new decade, they are leaving behind one that cost millions of them their childhoods, their dreams, even their lives. Since the start of the decade, the United Nations has verified more than 170,000 grave violations against children in…, January, Syrian Arab Republic. A man carries a child at Al-Hol camp for displaced persons. Violence, displacement and harsh conditions in northern and eastern Syria killed at least 32 children in the first month of the year. After more than eight years of conflict, the situation in Syria remains one of the gravest crises of our time – and children are…, February, Democratic Republic of Congo. Health workers visit a woman and her daughter in the quarantine area of an Ebola treatment centre in North Kivu province. February saw violent attacks against Ebola treatment centres in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, further complicating efforts to fight the disease . . Ebola is terrifying for adults – but…, March, Mali. A woman and daughter walk through the remains of their village. The humanitarian crisis in central Mali continued to worsen in 2019. An attack by an armed group in March on the tiny village of Ogossagou, in the Mopti region of central Mali, claimed the lives of more than 150 people, and was unprecedented in terms of the number of children…, April, Yemen. Children sit in front of a damaged house inside the old city of Sana'a, Yemen. Fourteen children were killed and 16 critically injured in a blast in Sana’a, Yemen’s largest city, in early April. The incident occurred near two schools, just before lunch time, when students were in class. A blast shattered the windows and unleashed shrapnel…, May, Syria. A girl stands in the doorway of a building in Al-Hasakeh, northeast Syria. In May, UNICEF called on governments to repatriate children who are their nationals or born to their nationals and who were stranded in camps and detention centres in northeast Syria. In Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, thousands of children of foreign fighters are…, June, Nigeria. A woman presses her hand against a screen door. UNICEF condemned the use of children as human bombs and in any combat or non-combat roles in the conflict in northeast Nigeria, after reports that three children were used to detonate explosives that killed 30 people and injured dozens more at a community football viewing centre in Konduga,…, July, Afghanistan. A boy walks outside an orphanage in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The month began with a deadly blast that injured scores of children in a rush hour attack in the Afghan capital Kabul. Later that month, 32 children were released from armed opposition groups in northern South Sudan, although thousands of children are still estimated to be…, August, Syria. A family transports some belongings in the back of a truck in Syria. Dozens of people were reportedly killed during a single mid-August weekend in northwestern Syria. After more than eight years of conflict, grave violations of children's rights and violations of international humanitarian law continue. Children are being killed and injured…, September, Yemen. A man stands outside his home with four of his children in Yemen. Around two million children are out of school in Yemen, including almost half a million who dropped out since the conflict escalated in March 2015, UNICEF noted as the new school year began in September. , October, Syria. A girl stares out from behind a metal window grille as displaced families arrive in Tal Tamer, in northeast Syria. An escalation of violence in northeast Syria in early October killed five children and displaced tens of thousands more . The hostilities damaged or caused the closure of critical basic services including schools, and health…, November, Cameroon. A young boy stands in front of class at a UNICEF-supported government primary school, in Douala, Cameroon. Three years of violence and instability in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon have left more than 855,000 children out of school, UNICEF warned in November . The humanitarian crisis in the country has expanded from four…, December, Ukraine. Students attend class at Marinka #2 school in Marinka, eastern Ukraine. In eastern Ukraine , where nearly half a million children are affected by the conflict, 36 attacks on schools were reported this year. In early December, five children were killed when gunmen opened fire inside a place of worship in Burkina Faso. Afghanistan. A boy…
