UN Security Council Resolution 1998

Attacks on schools and hospitals

Security Council Adds Groups That Attack Schools to "List of Shame"

Hard as it may be to believe, armed forces and groups sometimes deliberately attack schools and hospitals. On July 12, the United Nations Security Council took steps to end this egregious practice when it passed Security Council Resolution 1998. The resolution added attacks on schools and hospitals to a roster of grave violations that will trigger Security Council monitoring and action and can place violating parties on the UN’s "list of shame."

These grave violations include use of child soldiers (Resolution 1539, April 2004), killing and maiming children, and rape and other sexual violence against those under 18 (Resolution 1882, August 2009).

Other grave violations as defined by UN Security Resolutions that have not yet been addressed are abduction of children and denial of humanitarian access to children.

See the Watchlist on Children in Armed Conflicts' "Next Steps to Protect Children in Armed Conflict."