UN human rights official Leila Zerrougui tells Herman Grech that no country can shirk responsibility if the overwhelming number of people forced to flee wars and persecution is to be reduced.

Leila Zerrougui has seen unspeakable atroci­ties committed against children. But the story she witnessed when she visited a camp in Syria captured the horror of war for a lost generation.

A 15-year-old child soldier was grimacing in pain after he had lost his leg in a blast.

Upon approaching his bedside, the Algerian lawyer stood in stunned silence as the Syrian boy told her he was waiting for the doctors to “fix” his leg so he could go back to fight.

“I tried to convince him that he had already given too much, that it was enough. I told him to think about his future and that he had to return to his childhood.”

The boy would have none of it and insisted he craved revenge. Within seconds he broke into tears.

The boy’s poisoned mind became more evident when Ms Zerrougui met his mother with her two other children in hospital. His 12-year-old brother was completely immobilised after a shelling incident left him with grievous injuries to the neck. His five-year-old brother had lost parts of his organs. And their father had been killed.

Fear and populism are not an option.We need to fix problems, however far we think they are, because in reality, they are close –and they will come closer

“This child had no hope. It was terrible to see,” she said.

Ms Zerrougui, a special representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta following a meeting with President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca in New York ahead of a conference on missing children in search of asylum due to take place in Malta in January.

Leila Zerrougui, special representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, is clearly emotional when speaking about the child victims of war she has encountered in her work.

With a distinguished career in strengthening the rule of law, Ms Zerrougui is clearly overwhelmed by the number of conflicts around the world.

“I’ve been working with the UN since 2000, and I’ve never seen so many crises happening at the same time, so many crises spilling over to other countries – not only because people flee but also because the conflict impacts neighbouring communities that sometimes have the same sectarian origin or because the economies are connected.”

The devastating numbers of refugees have not been seen since World War II – an estimated 65 million people have fled their homes, 28 million of them children without hope and protection.

Countries, individual communities and NGOs, she said, could not shirk responsibility. They need to address the root causes of the conflicts in countries like Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya and Somalia.

She refuses to accept the arguments made by many in the developed world who selfishly refuse to look at problems beyond their backyard because they are riddled with economic hardships.

Rescuers carry children from the site of a bomb blast in Syria. Photo: Reuters

“In a globalised world, what seems to be far will eventually reach us. Fear and populism are not an option. We need to fix problems, however far we think they are, because in reality they are close – and they will come closer.”

Ms Zerrougui underlines the importance of seeing the way the problems of the Middle East – which until a few years ago were contained to countries like Iraq and Syria – are now spreading out.

“Today the problem is coming closer, and we are afraid. When people lose hope in their country, they will move. Wherever there’s conflict, people will move.”

Yet, the response to the refugee problem has prompted governments to build walls, as democracies elect right-wing governments.

Are fear and a lack of information to blame, and what can the UN do when faced with the rise of the far right?

“Nobody can escape responsibility. The UN was created because we need to have a minimum of respect for everyone’s protection. After World War II, people decided to create the UN because it was a necessity, because what was in place before had failed. That’s why they agreed that even if you go to war, you can’t cross certain red lines. We have the solidarity that is needed to prevent atrocities.”

Visiting children in Syria. Photos: United Nations

Ms Zerrougui keeps encountering the result of atrocities wherever she goes. When she went to northern Nigeria, she found distraught parents who had been forced to flee after brutal attacks, leaving their children behind.

“I met sick and malnourished children who fled without their parents. Sometimes they ended up with ISIS or Boko Haram or killed.

“I saw 14-year-old girls pregnant after they were raped – and then the baby wasn’t accepted by the community because he’s considered to be the child of the enemy. That’s the reality we see,” she said, her voice breaking.

Yet there are success stories that provide a semblance of hope in a world of hate. Some former child soldiers have become UN ambassadors, advocating that children should not be used for war.

Are governments justified when they say they are really helpless when faced with atrocities?

This child had no hope. It was terrible to see

“I always say to every leader, ‘I cannot pretend that I like your children better than you. It’s your leadership and vision that helps us to move forward. It’s easier to cover yourself in denial and accuse others’. Our first approach is to convince leaders they have a problem and they are the ones who can make a difference.”

For the conference in Malta, she intends to underline the way societies should work together to help those fleeing war and persecution, rather than to persist in building walls.

“This problem is happening next door. We can fix the problem if we work together, if we pool our resources and voices together,  rather than denying the problem or pushing back the problem.

“The problem simply won’t go away because we choose to look the other way.”

Ms Zerrougui will be taking part in a conference in Malta next January called Missing Asylum Seeking Children. It is being organised by Missing Children Europe in collaboration with the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society and the Office of the President.