UNITED NATIONS: Mass abductions of children by groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State are on the rise, with the practice now becoming a tactic of war, a UN envoy warned on Wednesday.
Leila Zerrougui, the special representative for children and conflict, urged the Security Council to punish armed groups who target children with sanctions and strengthen measures to protect children in conflict.
“Mass abductions of women and children are becoming a tactic of war used systematically to terrorize, suppress and humiliate entire communities”, Zerrougui told the 15-member council.
The envoy spoke as reports surfaced of a mass kidnapping of hundreds of children from the Nigerian town of Damasak by retreating Boko Haram fighters last week. UN rights investigators this month accused Islamic State fighters of abducting and selling women and girls from Iraq’s Yazidi minority as sex slaves.
French Ambassador said abductions of children should trigger sanctions by placing perpetrators on a UN black list of violators of children’s rights.
Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2015
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