All sides involved in South Sudan’s ongoing conflict have been guilty of “grave violations against children,” including killing and maiming, recruitment and use, abduction and rape and other forms of sexual violence, according to a new report on children and armed conflict in South Sudan from the office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The report found that violence against children dramatically increased after December of last year. The number of grave violations from mid-December 2013 to September 2014 was more than all of 2012 and the rest of 2013 combined. 

At least 600 children have been killed since the fighting started and thousands have been recruited into the fighting. More than six thousand children have been registered as separated from their families, unaccompanied or missing. The report estimates nearly 70,000 children, in total, have been affected by incidents during the conflict. 

In mid-2014, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA-Juba) formally recommitted to an action plan drafted with the United Nations to end and prevent recruitment and use of child soldiers, as well as all violations against children. The SPLA-IO also committed to protect children from the impact of the conflict.

“Six months later, we are still waiting to see boys and girls released and other meaningful actions that will help shield the country’s children from violence,” said Leila Zerrougui, the special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflicts.

The Secretary-General’s report indentifies the “persistent and widespread impunity benefitting perpetrators” as a grave concern and urges the government to ensure that people violating children’s rights are held accountable.

The report also calls on the government to develop a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program for children separated from armed forces and groups.

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