“Early warning must be linked to early action. But where is this early action after Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan? It is unconscionable and unforgivable that children’s rights are attacked, and we fail to defend them. This 30th anniversary [of the Children and Armed Conflict Mandate] demands reckoning more than celebration.”
— Mr. Alex Kamarotos, Executive Director of Defence for Children International
On Tuesday 10 March, Defence for Children International (DCI), the NGO Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and the Group of Friends of the CAAC mandate hosted a side event at the 61st Session of the Human Rights Council titled “Protecting Children in Armed Conflict: 30 years of Children and Armed Conflict Mandate”.
In 1996, the groundbreaking report The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children by Graça Machel fundamentally changed how the United Nations and its Member States addressed the protection of children affected by armed conflict. The report exposed the scale and severity of violations committed against children and called for a dedicated, system-wide response.
During Tuesday’s event, panellists reflected on the achievements of the Children in Armed Conflict (CAAC) Mandate but recognised the urgent need for action amid growing challenges to systemic change and humanitarian access.
In her opening remarks, H.E. Ms. Alejandra de Bellis Bonilla, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Geneva Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict, highlighted the alarming scale of violations affecting children in conflict.
“Recent United Nations reports point to the alarming scale of violation affecting children in armed conflicts in 2024 alone. 41,370 violations were verified, representing a 25% increase compared to the previous year”.
Ms. Vanessa Frazier, Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, responded to the rise in violence against children by urging for renewed commitment to the CAAC mandate.
The Special Representative called for stronger partnerships between on-the-ground UN agencies, civil society organisations, local agencies, and Member States. Above all, she stressed the importance of centring children’s voices.
“Too often decision-makers are looking at our reports and in black and white they see numbers only,” Ms. Frazier said. “But when you hear the story of one of those numbers, what they went through, you can humanise those numbers in the report, and then it makes a difference.”
Participants heard directly from one of those voices. Layan, a child advocate from Palestine, spoke about the trauma, anxiety and insecurity she and other Palestinian children experience daily. She called on decision-makers and the international community to take decisive action: “They must take responsibility. Protecting children during conflict isn’t optional. It’s a legal and moral obligation under international humanitarian law”.
Mr. Khaled Quzmar, General Director of DCI-Palestine, addressed the lack of accountability and the disregard for voices on the ground. He stated, “[Palestinians] live through such atrocities while no one is held accountable, and this is shameful for the international community and for the world.”
Mr. Quzmar emphasised that evidence of atrocities, human rights violations, and violence against children is widely available, but political will remains lacking. Without political action, he warned, “[We will] keep counting the victims, counting the violations”.
Addressing this accountability gap, Mr. Benoît Van Keirsbilck, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, focal point on Children and Armed Conflict, called for global engagement with the CAAC mandate, stronger global commitments and reforms to address the root causes of conflict.
“We know the root causes: poverty, inequality, lack of recognition by state and the international community of their obligations under human rights standards,” he said. “[We also need] reform of the Security Council, and the UN at large, which is badly failing to prevent and adequately responding to ongoing conflict. Let’s act.”
Ms. Mikiko Otani, President of Child Rights Connect, former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, shared the perspective of civil society organisations working on the ground. She emphasised that accountability must extend beyond criminal justice. “Accountability should be defined as a holistic and long-term process involving all sectors, criminal justice of course but [also] health, mental health, [and] education”.
Ms. Otani urged civil society organisations to continue listening to and uplifting children’s voices in their fight for safety and well-being.
Tuesday’s panellists shared a common goal: ensuring that the CAAC mandate does not take another 30 years to fully implement. As highlighted throughout the discussion, the next steps must include centring the voices of children affected by armed conflict and cultivating political support from Member States.
Without concrete action, children will continue to pay the highest price.