24 June 2025

NEW YORK, 25 June 2025 - "Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues. First of all, let me thank Guyana for allowing UNICEF the opportunity to address this Council today.

"As we gather around, I want to begin with a simple, painful truth: 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.

"The United Nations verified the highest number of grave violations against children since this agenda began - a 25 per cent increase from 2023, which was already the previous highest total ever recorded. Thousands of children killed and maimed. Thousands more recruited, abducted, raped, or denied humanitarian assistance.

"And these are just the verified cases. We all know that the real number - the real scale of the harm - is far higher. Each violation against children in every country around the globe represents a moral failure. And each leaves scars that may never fully heal.

"Excellencies, behind these numbers are names, faces, and lives. In Sudan, a 14-year-old girl was gang raped in her family home. Her mother was held at gunpoint throughout her daughter’s rape and was warned not to say anything to anyone.

"In Nigeria, six boys aged 9 to 12 found a metallic object and brought it to a welder to sell it as scrap metal. The ordnance exploded as the welder was examining it, killing him and the boys.

"This is happening every day at a scale difficult to fathom. In Israel and the State of Palestine last year, over 8,000 grave violations have been verified. In Gaza, children bear the brunt of this suffering. Nowhere else in the world has such a high number of grave violations been recorded since this Council established the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism twenty years ago.

"In these contexts, and beyond, we are witnessing a breakdown in the basic protections each of these children is owed — not just as a legal matter, but as a matter of human decency.

"Let me highlight two deeply disturbing trends.

"First, the increased use of explosive weapons in populated areas. This is now the leading cause of child casualties in many of the world’s conflicts, accounting for over 70 per cent of all incidents of killing and maiming. These weapons tear through homes, schools, hospitals, and shelters - even as families huddle inside, hoping they will be spared.

"From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Gaza and Myanmar, from Sudan to Ukraine and Lebanon, children continue to be injured or killed not just in crossfire, but as a direct result of bombing campaigns, shelling, and explosive remnants of war.

"These weapons do not just harm children in the moment of impact. The destruction to water systems, electricity, homes, hospitals, schools and playgrounds directly impacts children’s access to health, education, safe water, a safe place to play and sleep - the very foundations of childhood. And they leave behind unexploded ordnance that will kill and maim for years to come.

"Every unexploded shell left in a field, a schoolyard or an alley is a death sentence waiting to be triggered.

"Second is the surge in sexual violence. Verified cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence against children increased by 35 per cent in 2024. That’s just the verified cases - and we all know how underreported this violation is, as victims, especially children, often fear stigma, shame, or retaliation if they come forward.

"These are not just 'grave violations' in technical terms. These are acts of brutality that destroy lives. Survivors face not only physical injuries and trauma, but stigma, rejection, and sometimes further abuse.

"In the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the first two months of 2025 alone, nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence were reported by child protection partners. Over 40 per cent of those affected were children. To put it plainly: during this turbulent period, we estimated that a child was raped every thirty minutes.

"Haiti stands out as another striking example, with hundreds of cases - often involving gang rape by armed groups - recorded in territory under their control.

"In Somalia and Mali, similar patterns are being verified, illustrating a trend that cannot be otherwise classified as a systemic failure to protect children. And yet, impunity remains the norm. Survivors struggle to access the care and support they need. Perpetrators are rarely held accountable. We must change this.

"Excellencies, these facts are devastating - but they do not tell the full story.

"Because even amidst growing violence and shrinking resources, the Children and Armed Conflict agenda remains a source of hope.

"In 2024, over 16,000 children exited armed forces and groups and received protection and reintegration support - a lifeline for children to reclaim their futures. And we saw important progress in other areas.

"In Syria, the opposition Syrian National Army signed an Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use, and the killing and maiming of children.

"In the Central African Republic, a handover protocol now facilitates the swift transfer of children from armed groups to civilian care.

"In Colombia, former commanders were indicted for war crimes, including for recruitment and sexual violence against children.

"In the DRC, children are being separated from national security forces through age-assessments and UN screening.

"In Haiti, transitional authorities created a Joint Task Force to implement handover protocols for children associated with armed groups.

"And in Iraq, Pakistan, Libya and the Philippines, governments have made tangible commitments to end grave violations.

"These examples remind us that where there is political will, progress is possible. They also underscore the vital role of humanitarian access and child protection actors, many of whom work at great personal risk.

"Excellencies, UNICEF calls on the Council and Member States to take urgent action in six key areas:

"First, demand that all parties to conflict respect international humanitarian law and end grave violations. This includes signing and fully implementing Action Plans with the United Nations; releasing children from armed ranks and handing them over for reintegration; issuing clear command orders against violations and enforcing accountability; recognising children as victims, not threats; and ending the detention of children for alleged association with armed groups.

"Second, stop the use and proliferation of explosive weapons in populated areas. This means endorsing and implementing the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas; halting transfers of such weapons to parties known to target civilians, their homes, schools, and hospitals; and upholding the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. We cannot allow the support for these life-saving treaties to unravel.

"Third, protect and expand humanitarian space. Access is being denied at unprecedented levels. More humanitarian workers - including UN staff - were killed in 2024 than in any previous year. This is intolerable. Aid must reach children wherever they are, safely and without obstruction.

"Fourth, support and facilitate the humanitarian engagement with non-State armed groups to increase the protection of children and to secure access. Over the years, this engagement has delivered results for children, by promoting adherence to international law and by enabling the adoption of immediate and concrete measures, including the adoption of Action Plans.

"Fifth, fund this agenda. Severe budget cuts are undermining our ability to monitor, to prevent and to respond. Reintegration programmes are being reduced. Mental health support is vanishing. Specialised, lifesaving care for survivors of sexual violence is becoming harder to access. Without adequate, predictable funding, the Children and Armed Conflict agenda cannot deliver.

"Lastly, all States have a duty not only to respect international humanitarian law, but to ensure that others do so as well. Any support - military, financial, or political - to parties to conflict must come with clear expectations and conditions for the protection of children.

"Excellencies, UNICEF was born out of the rubble of war, created to serve the most vulnerable - children caught in conflict. That mission has never been more urgent than it is today.

"Children are not collateral damage. They are not soldiers. They are not bargaining chips. They are children. They deserve to be safe. They deserve justice. They deserve a future.

"This Council has a unique role to play in making that future possible. We cannot allow these grave violations against children to continue unchecked. This just cannot be the new normal.

"Let us act with urgency. Let us act with courage. And above all, let us act with the conviction that every child, no matter where they are, deserves to live in peace."