HuffPost: War In Syria And Yemen Prove We No Longer Care About Protecting Kids
Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa

“…The wars in Syria and Yemen are the acceleration of [a] loss of common consciousness. The lack of public outrage on a large scale today, when children are being attacked and when it is impossible to claim ignorance of what’s taking place, is a bleak indicator. The lack of effective political action is even worse. … In 1989, the World adopted unanimously the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Where has that political leadership gone? … Those directly accountable for this war on children; those supporting conflict and extreme violence indirectly; those condoning or standing by are sweeping aside values and laws that bind our common humanity: rules and principles of international human rights and humanitarian law that protect children under all circumstances; obligations that States committed to respect decades ago. … UNICEF and the child protection community will continue making the voices of children heard, and tirelessly advocate for the sacred child protection principle to be respected. In absence of political leadership, what else is there that each of us can and should do? Our efforts on their own will never stop the war on children” (4/4).