In an act of profound rejection and concern, the Ibero-American Council of the Ibero-American Commission on Human Rights for the Development of the Americas (CIDHPDA), in the voice of the President Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Víctor Hugo Gutiérrez Yáñez, expresses its strongest condemnation of the death of more than 200 children in Lebanon, as a result of recent military operations carried out by the State of Israel.
The ongoing conflict, which has resulted in countless civilian casualties, has devastated entire communities, especially children, who, as is often the case in war situations, are the most vulnerable. The loss of innocent lives is a humanitarian tragedy of indescribable proportions that cannot be ignored.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) denounced this Tuesday, November 19, the death of more than 200 children in less than two months due to the attacks carried out by the Israeli Army against Lebanon, and also regretted the lack of action by political actors who could intervene to stop the violence.
On the other hand, Unicef pointed out that the war has left hundreds of thousands of children homeless in Lebanon. It has also destroyed “infrastructures on which children depend” such as schools and hospitals. In all, more than 200 doctors and health workers have been killed and another 300 have been wounded as of November 15, according to official data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Faced with this situation, the ICHRPDA urgently appeals to the international community to take decisive action to put an end to this war, which not only undermines peace, but also flagrantly violates the fundamental principles of humanity and international law. In particular, we demand unrestricted respect for the human dignity of all persons involved in the conflict, especially minors.
We demand an immediate ceasefire by all parties involved, which must be rigorously respected. The continuation of hostilities only perpetuates suffering, death and destruction, while peace and the peaceful resolution of the conflict are imperative to ensure the protection of human rights.
CIDHPDA also urges international authorities, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, to take a firm stance and work to ensure the protection of the rights of children, who must be the primary beneficiaries of any peace agreement or cease-fire.