Ban Ki-moon, the former head of the UN, has urged the Security Council to increase protection for children around the world affected by conflicts as violence against minors reached “extreme levels” in 2023.
Mr Ban, who was UN Secretary General between 2007 and 2016, said it should be “a matter of shame” for nations at the Security Council that innocent children continue to pay “a terrible price in the multiple conflicts being waged across our world.”
The annual report, Children in Armed Conflict, reported a 21 per cent rise in grave violations against children in conflicts, the highest number of annual violations in almost a decade.
Mr Ban said there should be no impunity for any group or state committing crimes against children.
For the first time, the UN report put Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children’s rights for the killing and maiming of children and attacking schools and hospitals.
It also listed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants for the first time for killing, injuring and abducting children.
The UN has verified more than 8,000 grave violations against 4,247 Palestinian children and 113 Israeli children in 2023, reflecting the scale and human cost of the conflict.
Mr Ban said the inclusion of Israeli armed and security forces and Palestinian armed groups on the list was an “important step in terms of seeking accountability".
Speaking on behalf of the Arab group in the council, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, welcomed Mr Ban's decision to include the Israeli military on the blacklist for “heinous crimes” against Palestinian children, including attacking hospitals and schools in an “appalling and shocking manner”.
He demanded the international community bear its responsibilities in protecting Palestinian children in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem, and force Israel as “the occupying power to comply with the laws that guarantee and safeguard the rights of children”.
Noa Furman, Israel's deputy UN ambassador, said Israel's inclusion on the blacklist was based on inflated casualty numbers from Hamas-controlled sources.
“A report aimed at protecting children should be based on rigorously verified facts, not manipulated data used for political purposes,” Ms Furman said.
“The decision to include Israel in the annex of the report, alongside terrorist organisations, is not only unjust an incomprehensible, but counter-productive for the purposes of the report and our mutual efforts to protect children.”
Referring to the 2024 report as a “sobering snapshot”, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, said children in Gaza have borne far too much in a war set into motion by Hamas’s surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The war has resulted in a 155 per cent increase in grave violations against children, mainly due to the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas in the enclave, the 49-page report said.
“The fighting could stop today if Hamas agreed to the deal on the table, to which Israel has already agreed,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Instead, its leaders cynically hide themselves in a network of tunnels, and their weapons and ammunition in schools, mosques and hospitals, putting Palestinian children at risk, to protect themselves.
“These cowardly, craven tactics did not diminish Israel’s obligation to protect civilians, including children, in Gaza, and to further co-ordinate with the UN in facilitating humanitarian assistance."
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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