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Children First
Against War
The world is on the verge of one of the
most destructive of wars. Of the wars which have already
taken millions of lives during the last two decades, more
than half of these casualties were children and
additionally, many communities and cities have been
destroyed.
Iraq is just one
catastrophic example of these wars. It has been estimated
that 655 thousand people have been killed since the 2003
invasion of Iraq by American-British forces, and that every
five minutes, one child dies as a result of war and its
effects.
Imperialistic
powers are trying to use the brutalities committed by
political Islam as a justification, to show their military
might and to extend the dimension of their atrocities and
destructive war machine to Iran. By threatening war on Iran,
they want to add bombardment and mass killings to the lives
of those children who are already suffering from poverty,
discrimination, Islamic ignorance, tyranny, sexual abuse,
addiction and execution. If such a war is launched on Iran,
Iraq will only be a minor example.
UNISEF and
Western States’ media have announced that during the last
decade:
·
More than 2 million children
have been killed as a result of wars.
·
At least 6 million have been
wounded or permanently disabled.
·
At least 20 million children
have been displaced and encompass next to war zones.
·
More than one million orphan
children have been separated from their families
·
Each year between 8 to 10
thousand children are killed or disabled by mines
·
The majority of females older
than 12 years that survived the mass killings of 1994
Ruanda, were sexually abused.
·
As a result of war and
economic sanctions on Iraq, the fatality rate of children
has doubled such that 1 out of 10 infant dies.
More ever,
NGOs have announced that:
·
During economic sanctions of
Iraq, millions of infants have lost their lives due to the
lack of medication, clean drinking water and malnutrition.
·
After the American invasion of
Iraq, four million people have been displaced and have
little access to health services, shelter, education and
water. One and a half million of these displaced people are
children.
·
Around 50 percent of children
in Iraq are not able to attend school. Half of those who
are going to school are forced to leave.
To the extent
that children have suffered from wars, we should add mass
atrocities, destruction of cities, schools, houses,
hospitals, roads, economic establishments, social fabric,
the propagation of political Islam, and engaging children
for suicide missions. A possible war on Iran will bring
about many more catastrophes for children.
The world is
already a slaughterhouse for children. This claim has been
verified by statistics released by international
institutions and states. Poverty, child labor, prostitution,
addiction, the lack of housing, education, health services
and hunger are part of children’s daily lives around the
world. Any military action is a bloody attack on these
currently painful lives. Military strikes against any
community are an act of murder and should be opposed by
advocators of children’s right and pro-human right
individual. We must stand against war on Iran.
Children First
denounces economic sanctions in order to facilitate
diplomacy. Economic sanction is not a means against states,
but it is a Weapon of Mass Destruction against people.
Economic sanctions have targeted children more than every
other parts of society. Using this tool should be strongly
condemned.
Children First
condemns any bombardment or any military attack against any
society under any pretext. Children First condemns any
atrocity under the pretext of fighting terrorisms, defending
democracy, nationality, ethnicity, religion and security.
Children First
as an institution defending the children’s rights, supports
any attempt to oppose military strike or economic sanction
against Iran. At the same time, we warn that the Islamic
Republic of Iran should not be allowed to use economic
sanction and impose more poverty and deprivation on
children.
Central Bureau
Children First
November 17, 2007 |
