MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - The Russian State Duma adopted an address to the United Nations and world parliaments on Tuesday over the mass deaths of children and current humanitarian situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone.
The lawmakers called for supporting the demand that the sides to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict "stop the hostilities and indiscriminative use of lethal weapons, which kill civilians, above all innocent children and teenagers, immediately and without preconditions."
The address referred to information from the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and human rights organizations unrelated to the conflicting sides, according to which "almost 3,000 children were killed and over 5,000 minors suffered injuries in just the first three weeks of the unprecedented outbreak of violence in Palestine and Israel." It also said over 400 children were killed or injured in the conflict zone every day.
"According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, children account for 40% of all deaths in the escalated conflict. The biggest number of child deaths is reported from the long-suffering Gaza," the address said.
"The disregard of the goals and targets of the World Fit for Children action plan, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002, by a number of countries, first of all the United States, is a reason for the tragic situation with the protection of children's lives and health in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone," it said.
It is important to intensify the efforts of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict "to assess and give a fresh impetus to the operation of such specialized UN agencies as the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute founded back in 1968," the address said.
"The only way we can save the children of Palestine, Israel and neighboring countries involved in this protracted conflict is by pooling efforts of governments, parliaments and civil society around the United Nations and the UN Security Council," it said.
The address was drafted on Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin's orders.