July 08, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

According to police, gunmen ransacked the Bethel Baptist High School on July 5 and kidnapped at least 140 schoolchildren in Nigeria's Kaduna state, located in the country's northwest. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, commented on the July 5th incident in which 150 students were reportedly abducted from a school in Nigeria's Kaduna State, the latest in an alarming spate of child attacks and student abductions in parts of West and Central Africa. For years, UNICEF has been concerned that non-state armed groups and conflict parties in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger, and Nigeria will ramp up their violent activities in the coming weeks as the rainy season approaches and their movements may be hampered by flooding.

Such incidents appear to be becoming more common, raising concerns about the safety and well-being of the region's children. According to the UN Secretary General's report on children and armed conflict in 2020, one in every three child victims of grave violations has been in West and Central Africa.

UNICEF expresses growing concern about attacks on children and child abductions in parts of West and Central Africa in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Attacks on civilians have been reported in Burkina Faso. Attacks on civilians, kidnappings, and killings of schoolchildren and teachers are on the rise in Cameroon. A massive increase in child rights violations is occurring in the Central African Republic. Attacks on children, families, and schools were also reported in Niger. Students have been kidnapped from their schools in Nigeria. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, violations against children such as recruitment into armed groups, abduction, and killing have been documented.

As West and Central Africa falters on the brink of disaster, UNICEF urges all efforts to be made to halt the escalating child protection crisis. Additionally, safe temporary learning environments for children in areas where schools have been closed due to insecurity are required, as is psychosocial support for children affected by violence and support for mine risk awareness education. The international community must also play an important role. UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations obstruct and facilitate efforts to reach vulnerable children, such as increased donor contributions, vulnerability reduction for children, and resilience to keep children safe.

Photo:webshot.