The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed on June 4 each year. The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the UN’s commitment to protect the rights of children.
On 19 August 1982, at its emergency special session on the question of Palestine, the General Assembly, appalled at the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression, decided to commemorate June 4 of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. According to the United Nations in China, the statistics of child abuse include:
- More than two million children killed in conflict in the last two decades.
- About 10 million child refugees cared for by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
- In the Latin America and in the Caribbean region about 80 thousand children die annually from violence that breaks out within the family.
Child abuse is now in the spotlight of global attention and the UN is working hard to help protect children around the world. One key factor is the process of international negotiation and action centered around the Convention on the Rights of the Child.