UNITED NATIONS: Human rights groups have welcomed the United Nations decision to place Israel on a ‘List of Shame’ of countries that fail to protect children in war. The UN informed Israel about the move on Friday.

Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian children and maimed many more in its brutal bombing on Gaza, sparking global outrage against its military offensive.

The UN decision was welcomed by the world’s two major rights groups, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Amnesty Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, stated that the decision was long overdue. “It should not have taken 15,000 children killed in Gaza for Israel to be on this shameful list,” she tweeted.

“It’s a thoroughly justified, albeit long overdue, move by the Secretary-General,” said HRW’s Louis Charbonneau.

In an earlier tweet, HRW said that Israel’s inclusion was long overdue. “The UN has long omitted Israel from the list, which documents parties to armed conflict who commit grave violations against children,” HRW added.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, said that the decision to add Israel to the list “will not bring back tens of thousands of our children who were killed by Israel over decades and will not restore normal life for the children who were permanently disabled by its actions.”

However, he emphasised that “it is an important step in the right direction towards ending the double standards and the culture of impunity Israel has enjoyed for far too long and that left our children vulnerable to its consequences.”

Israel, however, has reacted furiously after it was informed that it will be placed on the list. “I am utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision,” Israeli envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said in a statement.

“The only one who is blacklisted today is the Secretary General, whose decisions … are rewarding terrorists … Shame on him!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on his social media account X that the UN had “added itself to the blacklist of history when it joined those who support the Hamas murderers.”

The United Nations Secretary General’s annual report on children and armed conflict is set to be released on June 18, with an advance copy to be delivered to Security Council members on June 14.

However, the report was leaked on Friday when the Israeli ambassador to the UN recorded and partially released a courtesy call from the UN Chief of Staff, Courtenay Rattray, informing him of Israel’s inclusion in the report’s annex.

“This is shocking and unacceptable,” said UN Spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, noting that he had never seen such a breach of protocol in his 24 years serving the Organisation.

The report, which is based on a well-established methodology, lists countries that have committed grave violations against children in armed conflict. Israel’s inclusion in the report is a first and has drawn strong reactions from the country’s leaders.

The UN Secretary General has emphasised that the report is a factual account of violations committed and is not a political statement. “The Secretary General has been very clear in speaking out since October 7 on issues of violations of international law, on issues of violation of human rights, which includes the condemning of the terror attacks by Hamas,” said Dujarric.

The report will be officially published on June 18, followed by an open debate in the Security Council on June 26. The consequences for countries listed in the report will be for Member States to decide.

As Dujarric noted, “We’ve been asked to produce a report. We produce the report; the consequences will be for others to take.” The UN blacklist has previously included countries such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and groups like Al Qaeda.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2024