The year 2024 will remain one of the darkest for children living amidst conflict, with the first half of the year seeing children being killed and maimed in unprecedented numbers. Large-scale military operations using explosive weapons in densely populated areas as well as the use of explosive weapons and the presence of explosive remnants of war have rendered children particularly vulnerable to grave violations, shows a new Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to the Human Rights Council.
“Children around the world suffered abhorrent abuses and violations of their most fundamental rights, such as their rights to life, education, and health. The suffering of these children is a stain on our collective conscience which requires immediate and resolved actions. I call on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law and take all necessary measures to protect children during military operations, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution,” said the Special Representative, Virginia Gamba.
In past years, the denial of humanitarian access to children has increasingly presented worrying trends and as such, a guidance note to enhance the monitoring and reporting on the denial of humanitarian access to children was developed in collaboration with UNICEF, DPO, and DPPA, and in consultation with OCHA, and will be published in 2025. Attacks on schools and hospitals have also remained disturbingly high, seriously impairing children’s access to education, especially girls’ education which remains frequently targeted because of harmful gender norms. Beyond gender, other factors such as age, ethnicity, race, and disability were determining factors in adversely shaping the vulnerability of children to these attacks.
Furthermore, barriers to the registration of children at birth continue to harm the protection of conflict-affected children and the fulfillment of their rights. Unregistered children are indeed more likely to be vulnerable to grave violations during armed conflict, including recruitment and use and rape and sexual violence, as they are unable to demonstrate that they are below 18 years old and hence entitled to special protection. They are also more likely to be excluded from services such as schools and hospitals and to be denied humanitarian access.
Engagement for conflict-affected children
Engagement with parties to conflict by the Special Representative, her Office or the United Nations on the ground took place against the backdrop of drawdowns of peace operations and special political missions and diminishing child protection capacities, and in contexts of great hardship for United Nations personnel and aid workers. Nonetheless, such engagement led to progress for children in contexts like the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Furthermore, an action plan was signed in the Syrian Arab Republic with the opposition Syrian National Army, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam, and its aligned legions and factions, while a prevention plan was extended with the Government of Ukraine.
“Ending and preventing violations of children’s rights in armed conflict requires concerted, cooperative, and sustained efforts, rooted in the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It must start with governments’ political will to fully implement the Convention and be met by an adequate level of engagement, accountability measures, and dedicated resources to uphold these rights, with the support of all stakeholders,” said Virginia Gamba. As such, her Office will launch a new advocacy campaign aimed at rallying the international community behind the Convention on the Rights of the Child in March 2025 in Geneva.
Collaboration with Member States, regional organizations – in particular the African Union, the European Union, and the League of Arab States –, UN bodies, and civil society organizations continued. The Special Representative also pursued her engagement with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms through her yearly interactive dialogue with the Council, engagement with its Special Procedures, as well as the submission of information on the rights of children in armed conflict as part of the Universal Periodic Review. She also strengthened her cooperation with human rights treaty bodies, including the formalization of her cooperation with the Committee on the Rights of the Child in a memorandum of understanding, and with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights through contributions to several reports of the High Commissioner.
Several initiatives allowed the Office to continue its awareness-raising and capacity-building activities in 2024, including the launch of a self-paced online introductory course on the CAAC agenda (so-called “CAAC Primer”) and of an Advanced Training on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as the joint project with the African Union titled “Children and Armed Conflict in Africa – Strengthening Regional Partnerships and Capacities”.
