International Human Rights Days

In 1982, the UN General Assembly designated June 4 as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression – a date that has been observed annually ever since. The decision followed an emergency special session of the General Assembly that addressed the situation in Palestine, particularly the high number of Palestinian and Lebanese children harmed by acts of aggression committed by Israel.

The purpose of the day is to draw the international community’s attention to the suffering endured by children worldwide and to emphasize the need for collective efforts to protect innocent lives from all forms of violence.

The establishment of this observance was followed in 1997 by the UN’s adoption of Resolution 51/77 on the Rights of the Child, which incorporated the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol. Since then, annual resolutions on the Rights of the Child have continued to be adopted. 

According to UNICEF’s Prospects for Children in 2025: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures, by 2023, one in six children globally – over 473 million – lived in conflict-affected areas. This marks a dramatic rise from 10% in the early 1990s to 19% today.

Similarly, the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict reported that in 2023 alone, 11,649 children were killed or maimed, 8,655 were recruited or used by armed forces or groups, 4,356 were abducted, and 1,470 – 90% of them girls – were victims of sexual violence. Although official figures for 2024 are not yet available, it is evident that the number of child victims continues to grow due to the escalation of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and the persistence of other global conflicts.

This rising toll underscores the increasing urgency of joint global efforts to safeguard children’s rights. These efforts must go beyond the protection of life in conflict zones – they must also ensure timely access to medical and humanitarian assistance, safe school attendance, and secure living environments. In this context, the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression remains a vital occasion to remind the world of our collective responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Sources

Prospects for Children: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures. UNICEF

Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 4 June

Written by Olga Pynenkova for Yonsei GSIS Human Rights Hub