UN's Ban 'deeply alarmed' by suffering of children caused by IDF operations in Gaza
Israel says UN report on children and armed conflict biased.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERSUpdated: JUNE 18, 2015 22:29U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (photo credit: REUTERS)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon harshly criticized Israel on Thursday, saying that Israeli military operations had caused suffering to children in the Gaza Strip.Ban made the comments came during a UN Security Council debate to discuss the latest United Nations report on children and armed conflict."I am also deeply alarmed at the suffering of so many children as a result of Israeli military operations in Gaza last year," the UN chief said in reference to last summer's Operation Protective Edge."I urge Israel to take concrete and immediate steps, including by reviewing existing policies and practices to protect and prevent the killing and maiming of children and to protect the special protections afforded to schools and hospitals," Ban added.Earlier Thursday, Israel accused a senior UN official of misconduct in preparing a report that harshly criticized the IDF over the 2014 Gaza war while leaving it off a blacklist of states and armed groups that violate children's rights in conflict.In the report, Ban said "the unprecedented and unacceptable scale of the impact on children in 2014 raises grave concerns about Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law ... (and) excessive use of force."Although formally presented in Ban's name, the report was prepared by his envoy on children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui of Algeria.Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor accused her of "biased conduct against Israel." He also denied Israel had violated international law during the war.In a letter to Ban, seen by Reuters, Prosor voiced "deep concerns regarding the improper conduct - at every working level - of the office of ... Zerrougui in the process of drafting and producing the report."Prosor said Zerrougui's office "repeatedly refused attempts on our part to provide official evidence and facts."Zerrougui rejected Israel's accusations."Israel has been in this report since 2005, every year it's the same process that we apply," Zerrougui told reporters. "Last year I was here, I was not accused of misconduct. The year before I was here, I was not accused of misconduct."Zerrougui said Israel had the standard two weeks and three additional days to respond.According to UN officials, Zerrougui included Israel on a draft blacklist of violators of children's rights, although Ban decided not to include Israel's army on the final blacklist, which names groups like the Taliban and Boko Haram.Prosor said the report disproportionately focused on Israel, even though Iraq, where Islamic State militants control significant territory, had the highest number of child casualties.The report includes 32 paragraphs on Israel, compared with eight on Iraq, 15 on Afghanistan, 18 on Syria and 11 on Darfur.Zerrougui's report did not explicitly accuse Hamas of any crimes against children. Several Israeli officials said on condition of anonymity that Israel told Zerrougui's office how Hamas rockets severely damaged Israeli medical centers and schools - details that were not mentioned.The officials also accused the human rights groups that helped draft the report of bias.
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