Defence for Children International (DCI) delivered a statement at the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council during Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
In the statement, DCI highlighted the critical role the Children and Armed Conflict mandate has played over nearly three decades in documenting grave violations, advancing accountability, and mobilising international action to better protect children affected by war.
DCI warned that the situation for children in armed conflict is deteriorating globally. Killing and maiming, recruitment and use, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and the denial of humanitarian access continue to affect children at alarming and unprecedented levels.
DCI urges all Member States to:
- Uphold and ensure full respect for international humanitarian law, including the special protection afforded to children during armed conflict;
- Strengthen accountability for grave violations against children, including through national and international accountability mechanisms;
- Guarantee sustained and unhindered humanitarian access, so that life-saving assistance and protection services can reach children and families affected by conflict;
- Continue to support and reinforce the Children and Armed Conflict mandate, including the monitoring and reporting mechanism that has been instrumental in documenting violations and advancing protection for children over the past 30 years.
Watch the delivery here: