International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is an annual observance held on June 4 to recognise the suffering of children who are victims of physical, mental, and emotional abuse around the globe. It is also an incentive for the international community to recommit to the objective of eliminating all forms of violence against children.
The resolution that spawned the holiday was initially inspired by the plight of Palestinian and Lebanese child victims of the 1982 Lebanon War. However, it also endeavours to end aggression and protect children’s rights in every other conflict-ridden region of the world.
The background of International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
The war that eventually led to the adoption of the Convention on Child Rights and the establishment of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression began in June 1982, when the Israel Defence Forces invaded southern Lebanon in response to an attempt to assassinate its ambassadors within the country.
Adoption of the holiday occurred shortly thereafter, on August 19, 1982, at an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly convened out of concern for the rising number of civilian casualties, including children. Members were horrified by the large number of Palestinian and Lebanese minors killed by Israeli aggression.
In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly enacted and adopted a Resolution on the Rights of the Child as a result of the four-month war. When it became the most broadly ratified international human rights treaty in history, it was regarded as a defining moment in the effort to improve the protection of children in conflict situations.
In recent years, according to reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (U.N.O.D.C. ), the organisation tasked with ending violence against children, the number of violations of the United Nations Conventions on Child Rights has increased in many conflict-torn regions of the world, making the holiday’s purpose and observance all the more crucial.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that the world loses trillions of dollars annually due to the aftereffects of violence against children around the world. This is due to the fact that violence frequently causes long-lasting physical and mental harm that persists into maturity and stunts a child’s development.
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5 IMPORTANT FACTS CONCERNING CHILD VICTIMS
Each year, 246 million students worldwide are affected by school-related violence, according to United Nations reports.
Approximately 28,5 million children of primary school age who do not attend school reside in conflict-affected regions.
Every seven minutes, a child is killed by an act of violence somewhere in the globe.
According to a United Nations report, violence against children impacts more than one billion children worldwide and costs the global economy $7 trillion annually.
Each year, 50% of the world’s youth experience violence.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INNOCENT CHILDREN VICTIMS OF AGGRESSION DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2023 | June 4 | Sunday |
2024 | June 4 | Tuesday |
2025 | June 4 | Wednesday |
2026 | June 4 | Thursday |
2027 | June 4 | Friday |