He made the remark in his address before the UN Third Committee, where Member States voiced their concerns about the situation of children deprived of their "fight for education".
According to reports presented during the session, it appears that in 2018, 9 million children were starving before the age of 5, 264 million were working and 420 million children, or nearly one in five children worldwide, lived in conflict-affected areas, not to mention the 121 million children who did not attend school.
At the current rate, says one report, by 2030, less than half of the world's two billion children will be able to complete high school to acquire the skills they need to succeed in life, at school and at work.
Speaking before the Third Committee, Mohammad Hassaninejad Pirkouhi, Counselor of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN, noted that one-fifth of the world's children live in a conflict zone, and regretted that one billion children are facing some form of violence and that those who attack them are not punished.
He said the US’ unlawful and unilateral measures in imposing sanctions on Iran have inflicted the most damage to vulnerable people.
“In the face of global silence and indifference, Iranian children are the first victims of the US’ economic massacre,” he said.
Despite the unfair conditions imposed from the outside, he continued, Iran has managed to achieve considerable progress regarding the improvement of children’s life.
In Iran, he said, 2019 has been declared the Year of the Review of the Rights of the Child. In addition, the nationality law of 2019 makes it possible to grant Iranian nationality to children born to an Iranian mother and a foreign father.
Iran is also fighting child labor, and a bill will, once adopted, combat violence against children, he said.
In addition, vaccination campaigns are conducted, and the gap between boys and girls in education has been eliminated. Finally, the delegate concluded, more than 500,000 refugee children are studying in Iranian schools.
MNA/4743722
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