Türkiye highlights heavy toll of armed conflicts on children

Türkiye's ambassador to the United Nations has expressed deep concern over the devastating impact of armed conflicts on children.

"Children continue to be adversely and disproportionately affected by the prevailing security protection and humanitarian challenges caused by armed conflicts around the world," Ahmet Yildiz told a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict on Wednesday.

Referring to a recent report by the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Yildiz said Israel's atrocities in Palestine's Gaza alone led to an increase in grave violations of 155 percent.

"The numbers of (grave violations) in this conflict and other violations and the nature of the cruelty in this conflict in Gaza are unsurpassed and unprecedented. I am afraid the numbers may be much more than verified in the report due to the situation on the ground," he added.

Need for permanent ceasefire

The ambassador stressed that there is no solution for Palestinian children other than a permanent ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian aid and the resumption of education.

Yildiz also expressed concern over the children affected by the Russia-Ukraine war and added that Türkiye, in cooperation with UNICEF, has hosted nearly 2,000 orphans and their caregivers since March 2022.

"Türkiye attaches utmost importance to the agenda of the UN which addresses the situation of children in armed conflict and is ready to support efforts for the prevention and protection of children," he added.

PKK continues child recruitment

Turning to the conflict in Syria, Yildiz said the suffering of children continues "unabated" due to the grave violations by the Assad regime and terrorist organisations such as the PKK/YPG and its offshoot, the so-called SDF.

The envoy stressed that the latest report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic also confirms that the terrorist organisation is the "primary perpetrator" of violations and serious crimes against children in Syria.

"The facts on grave violations of this terrorist organisation are crystal clear; therefore, expecting a terrorist organisation to be bound by commitments of an international framework — the so-called 2019 Action Plan — is an illusion," Yilmaz said.

The PKK and its offshoots’ grave violations against children are not limited to Syria, Yilmaz noted, drawing attention to the terrorists' activities in Iraq which have included killing, maiming and abducting children.

"They recruit and use children as soldiers and also stand as an obstacle to the provision of better public services and infrastructure investments in the localities where they are present," he added.

Emphasising the PKK's exploitation of the power vacuum to target Türkiye from Iraq, Yildiz noted that the group launched 1,084 attacks on Türkiye from Iraqi territory just last year.

"This is a matter of national security," he said, adding that Türkiye is obliged to take appropriate measures against terrorist threats in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

"These operations are conducted in full compliance with international law and international humanitarian law and with utmost attention and care to avoid any harm to civilians, including children, and civilian infrastructure," he added, criticising the ungrounded allegations in the report on Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations in Syria and Iraq.