With over 100 million children denied their rights to education, due to conflicts, economic barriers, natural disasters or discrimination, education remains a pressing challenge. In some conflict situations, attacks on schools and their military use continue to jeopardize children’s safety and right to learn. In 2023, the United Nations verified 752 attacks against schools and [...]
The alarming surge in violence caused by the rapid escalation of hostilities in Sudan has led to a detrimental impact on children. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), Virginia Gamba, calls attention to the plight of children affected by the ongoing violence and strongly condemned the recent attacks in [...]
The year 2024 marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes its Optional Protocol to prohibit the recruitment and use as soldiers of all children under eighteen years of age. What should have been a year of celebration in advancing fundamental rights of children, including during situations of [...]
As Syria is at a crossroads and its future uncertain, the opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future must be seized by all actors. Children must be at the center of the country’s transition and reconstruction”, said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba. The Special Representative echoes [...]
Annual Report of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to the General Assembly The Annual Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, presented today to the General Assembly, reveals that the evolving nature, expansion, and increasing complexity of armed conflicts has led to [...]
The proliferation of armed conflicts around the world puts children at an increased risk of grave violations while the risk of being trafficked similarly increases during armed conflict and transitional periods. Hence, a new study published today suggests using a trafficking framework to prevent, categorize, and respond to violations against children in armed conflict, including [...]
La version française suit The Government of the Central African Republic and the United Nations signed the Handover Protocol on the Protection and Transfer of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Groups to Civilian Authorities, an important milestone for the protection of conflict-affected children that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children [...]
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), Virginia Gamba, is urgently drawing attention to the plight of children affected by the violence between Israel and Lebanon. Children have been killed, maimed and thousands have been displaced, with schools and medical facilities either closed, damaged, or destroyed, leaving their physical safety and [...]
Doha, Qatar/ New York, 10 September 2024 – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, participated in the 5th observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, held on September 9, 2024, in Doha, Qatar. The event, organized by Education Above All (EAA) under the leadership [...]
Children in north-east Nigeria continued to face heightened insecurity due to the presence of armed groups notably Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Bakura, which led to a significantly increase of grave violations compared with the previous reporting period, highlights a new report of the UN [...]
