Geneva, Switzerland

The number of children killed in armed conflicts across the world tripled last year when compared to the year prior, said the United Nations, on Tuesday (Jun 18). The international organisation also said that it faced a $40.8-billion funding shortfall across the globe. 

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Death toll in armed conflicts rises

The UN rights chief Volker Turk, on Tuesday, revealed the disturbing number of civilians being killed in armed conflicts across the world to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 

Overall, the number of civilian deaths in armed conflict soared by 72 per cent in 2023, said the UN rights chief citing the data gathered by his office. 

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Turk noted how killing and injuring of civilians as well as the destruction of vital infrastructure have become a “daily occurrence”. 

“Children shot at. Hospitals bombed. Heavy artillery launched on entire communities. All along with hateful, divisive, and dehumanising rhetoric,” said the UN rights chief. 

The data, collected by the OHCHR, “horrifyingly” also indicates “that the proportion of women killed in 2023 doubled and that of children tripled, compared to the year prior,” Turk said. 

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‘Unconscionable death and suffering’

Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are suffering a drastically worsening human rights environment, alongside “unconscionable death and suffering” in Gaza, the UN rights chief said. 

Turk also said he was “appalled by the disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law by parties to the conflict” amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. 

According to the UN data, over 120,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured because of Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian enclave. 

Also Read | Israel-Hamas war: At least 17 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on Gaza refugee camp

The war in Gaza has also drawn focus away from the West Bank, where the Israeli army conducts nearly nightly, often deadly, raids. 

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, in October through mid-June, 528 Palestinians, including 133 children, had been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, said Turk. 

Meanwhile, 23 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and Israel in clashes with or attacks by Palestinians, said the UN rights chief. 

Turk went on to talk about the Ukraine war and ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Syria.  

The recent wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure has destroyed 68 per cent of the war-torn country’s electricity production capacity, “bringing the system to a dangerous tipping point, especially ahead of winter,” said the UN rights chief. 

Lack of funds

According to Turk, as of the end of May this year the gap between the humanitarian funding requirements and available resources stood at $40.8 billion, which left appeals funded just 16.1 per cent on average.

On the other hand, the global military expenditure in 2023 was $2.5 trillion, which he said was “the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009”. 

“In addition to inflicting unbearable human suffering, war comes with a hefty price tag,” the UN rights chief noted. 

(With inputs from agencies)