International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression on June 4th each year is a special chance to honor the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. It is the United Nation’s commitment to protect the rights of children.

International Day for Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is an annual holiday that takes place on 4 June each year to recognize the pain experienced by children around the world who are victims of abuse physically, mentally and emotionally. This is also the driving force for the international community to realize the goal of ending all forms of violence against children.

Originally motivated by the struggles of Palestinian and Lebanese children who were victims of the 1982 Lebanon War, the original resolution for the holiday still seeks to end aggression and protect children's rights in every other conflict zone in the world.

History

The fighting that led to the promulgation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and eventually the establishment of the International Day of the Innocent Child, Victim of Violence began in June 1982 when the Israel Defense Forces invaded the southern Lebanon, after an assassination of its ambassadors from within the country.

The adoption of the holiday came shortly afterwards at the emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on 19th August 1982, called for out of fear of the growing number of civilian casualties, including even children. Members were appalled by the large number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children who were victims of the acts of Israeli aggression.

The four-month war led the United Nations General Assembly to issue and adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child in 1997. This event is seen as a landmark development in efforts to improve child protection in conflict situations when became the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.

In recent years, following reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (U.N.O.D.C.) - the organization tasked with launching initiatives to end violence against children; The number of violations of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child has increased in many conflict zones around the world, making the purpose and observance of the holiday more important than ever.

Given that violence often causes long-term physical and emotional harm into adulthood and hinders a child's development, the United Nations estimates that the world loses trillions each year as a result of violence for children globally.

Stop attacking children

It is a sad fact that in situations of armed conflict, it is the members of society that are most vulnerable - namely children, who are most affected by the consequences of war.  There are six offenses including the recruitment and use of children in war, murder, sexual violence, kidnapping, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access.

On 19th August 1982, at the emergency special session on the Palestinian, the General Assembly was appalled by the large number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children who are victims of the acts of Israeli aggression, has made a decision to choose June 4th every year as International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

The purpose of this day is to recognize the pain experienced by children around the world who are victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the commitment of the United Nations to the protection of children's rights. To be guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most international human rights treaty was rapidly and widely ratified in history.

Some truths about Children Victims

• Schools are considered easy targets

According to a United Nations report, 246 million children worldwide are affected by school violence each year.

• Millions of children affected

Approximately 28.5 million primary school-age children without schooling live in conflict-affected areas.

• Unfortunate statistics

Every seven minutes, a child is killed by an act of violence at somewhere in the world.

• Violence is widespread and costly

Violence against children affects more than one billion people around the world and costs countries a total of $7 trillion each year, according to a United Nations report.

• Half of children in the world were experienced violence

50% of the world's children experience violence every year.

Some reasons for the day being important

• To put an end to the senseless loss of life

One thing the United Nations wants to achieve through the International Day for the Innocent Child Victims of Violence is the complete eradication of violence and the behavior that causes the deaths of millions of children around the world every year. This is one of the Sustainable Development Goals that needs to be achieved by 2030. Therefore, the holiday is important, as a way for us to commit to ending all forms of violence against children and putting an end all forms of child abuse, neglect and exploitation that cause unnecessary loss of life in the world.

• Enhance our common humanity

Is it important to ignore offensive behavior towards children? If anything, and as the United Nations has said in its reports, neglect does more harm than good. The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is a day to reflect and decide if there is a commitment to help codify wrong and right in the treatment of children around the world.

• It sets a good precedent

Observance of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is important for setting a good precedent. Furthermore, it is a day to garner human outrage and disdain for violence against children in order to prevent criminal organizations from involving them in wars.

Celebrating International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

• Supports United Nations programs and related resolutions

The United Nations, through the U.N.O.D.C., has a number of initiatives such as the Global Program to End Violence against Children, which supports and helps its member states. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlines how to effectively prevent and respond to violence against children and outlines a master plan to ensure a better future for children.

• Create a safe space for children

Since violence against children can occur both physically and psychologically, paying special attention and actively listening to children talk without diminishing their feelings can help uncover abuse. It also builds relationships of trust and maintains positive interactions with them.

• Spread awareness on social networks

Another way to observe the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Violence is to spread awareness online. Help others see the importance of the holiday by listing some statistics on the severity of violence against children. Use the hashtag #InternationalDayofInnocentChildrenVictimsofAggression while you're there.