A recent United Nations report spotlights the brutality of Daesh toward yet another segment of society: Iraq’s children.
In its February 4 report, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child states that terrorists are killing Iraqi children. It finds “mass executions of boys” and “reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive.”
“We are really deeply concerned [about the] torture and murder of those children, especially those belonging to minorities, but not only from minorities,” committee expert Renate Winter told a news briefing, reported Reuters. “The scope of the problem is huge.”
The report also describes Daesh’s exploitation of children as suicide bombers, informants and human shields.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. condemns Daesh for its crimes against children. She expressed condolences to the families of its victims.
“These savage and barbaric acts should once again call into question the humanity of those committing them,” Harf said. “We have repeatedly seen that ISIL is nothing but a brutal and vicious cult that inflicts unspeakable horrors on its victims in the name of its toxic misinterpretation of religion.”
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed the role of the global coalition against Daesh in degrading and ultimately defeating the terror group.
“To stop ISIL’s campaign of terror and horror against the Syrian and Iraqi people, we remain steadfast in our efforts to work with the Iraqi government and our regional partners and lead the international coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL,” Psaki said.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of 18 Independent experts who monitor implementation of the international Convention on the Rights of the Child.