UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ latest report on Children and Armed Conflict has documented grave violations against children caught in war, which has been termed “a moral failure.”
The report documented a 25 per cent increase in grave violations against children in 2024, the largest number ever recorded in its 20-year history.
Sheema Sen Gupta, Director of Child Protection at the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, told the Security Council that the world was failing to protect children.
“This year’s report from the Secretary-General once again confirms what too many children already know – that the world is failing to protect them from the horrors of war.”
“Each violation against children in every country around the globe represents a moral failure,” she stressed.
In 2024, the report documented a record 41,370 grave violations, including killing and maiming, rape, abduction and the targeting of infrastructure such as schools which supports children.
She said many of these violations occurred during times of conflict, especially as urban warfare is on the rise, while grave violations can persist even after a conflict ends.
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“Every unexploded shell left in a field, schoolyard, or alley is a death sentence waiting to be triggered,” the UNICEF official said.
“They persist in the spaces which remain destroyed, impeding children from accessing healthcare and education.
“And they persist in the trauma and injuries which never fully leave a child,” Gupta said.
She noted the current funding cuts to humanitarian aid were impeding the work of UN agencies and partners to document and respond to grave violations against children.
Gupta appealed to the Security Council, stressing: “Fund this agenda,” adding that the international community cannot allow this to become “a new normal.”
She reminded the members of the Security Council that children were not and should never be “collateral damage.”
Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said the trauma of Armed conflicts remained with children even if they were not injured.
“Each child struck by these attacks carries a story, a stolen life, a dream interrupted, a future obscured by senseless violence and protracted conflict.”
Gamba said children who survived the grave violations do not escape unscathed, if they suffered violence, the injuries would stay with them for a lifetime.
“The physical and psychological scars borne by survivors last a lifetime, affecting families, communities and the very fabric of societies,” Gamba said.
She called for “unwavering condemnation and urgent action” from the international community to reverse the worrying trends which the report detailed.
“We cannot afford to return to the dark ages where children were invisible and voiceless victims of armed conflict,” she stressed.
“Please do not allow them to slip back into the shadows of despair,” she appealed.
The report presented to the Security Council is published annually to document grave violations against children affected by war.
It relies entirely on data compiled and verified by the UN, meaning that the real numbers are much higher than reported.
NAN
