Tehran, June 2, 2009 - A seminar to commemorate the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression was organized on 2 June by the Iranian Association for United Nations Studies at University of Tehran.  

Mr. Sunil Narula, United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i. and Dr. Nasrin Mosafa, Director of the Centre for Graduate International Studies, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, and the National Project Director of UNDP’s human rights cluster project, spoke on the occasion, which sought to highlight both the issue of aggression against children and the measures being taken by the global community to combat the problem.
Mr. Narula focused on the United Nations Secretary General’s recent report on children and armed conflict,  saying that children as victims of aggression or children affected by armed conflict is a matter of grave concern for the UN, its agencies and many others in the world. He mentioned that according to estimates over 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts, another 6 million have been rendered permanently disabled and more than 250,000 children continue to be exploited as child soldiers. In addition, around 10 million child refugees are cared for by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Narula also referred to the rising problem of children being used by terrorist groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, for attacks on international and national security forces, which in some cases even involve suicide bombings.

Dr. Nasrin Mosafa, stressing that children are becoming an easy target of aggression, said that they are highly vulnerable in the situations of armed conflict. She also mentioned that there are many reports, statistics, and researches conducted by the United Nations (UN) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that shed vivid light on the growing aggression against children, especially in armed conflicts. She stressed that the global community must take action to help countries to combat the problem of aggression against children, which takes root in poverty, lack of education and development.

Mr. Narula and Dr. Mosafa, both noted that the global community is progressing toward combating this problem and was increasingly alert to protecting the rights of children. He noted the comment made by Ms. Radhika Coomarasway, Secretary-General’s Special Representative on children and armed conflict, in which she said that “the rights of children have always been easier than any other rights. Because when you talk about children there is a universal chord that you strike and people seem to respond.”

Furthermore, Dr. Mosafa pointed out that the global community aims at combating this issue by cooperating with NGOs and private groups in seriously challenging this growing problem. She acknowledged the role of various UN agencies, including UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, ILO and UNHCR and the partnership they have developed to combat not only the problem of aggression against children in armed conflicts and child soldiers, but also the aggression children face all over the world, which may be physical, emotional and even sexual.

It was on 19 August 1982, that the emergency special session of the General Assembly on the question of Palestine, and appalled by the number innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression, decided to commemorate June 4, as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

The event took place within the framework of a joint UNDP and Government of Iran Project “Human Rights for Better Access to Justice”. UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.