Warned of ‘Shocking’ Death Toll of Children in Conflicts, Third Committee Urges Steps to Address ‘Unprecedented’ Surge in Grave Offenses

Without Urgent Action, It Will Take 300 Years to Eliminate Child Marriage, Says United Nations official

Speakers today urged accountability for the staggering number of child casualties in armed conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, Myanmar and beyond, as well as other violations such as child marriage and labour, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) began its discussion on children’s rights.

The United Nations verified 32,990 grave violations against children in 2023 - the highest since mandated monitoring began.  Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably the Gaza Strip, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine were among the conflict zones in which the highest numbers of children were killed and maimed, according to a United Nations report (document A/79/245) just released today by Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

“What was truly shocking […] is that 11,649 children, one third of them girls, were killed and maimed,” Ms. Gamba said, stressing that her office prioritizes effective engagement with warring parties — Government forces and armed groups — to end and prevent grave violations by advocating, adopting and implementing joint action plans with them. 

One such example was the adoption of a roadmap with the Syrian Democratic Forces prioritizing the implementation of an agreement signed with the United Nations to end recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. “Such gains are only possible with strong child protection capacity on the ground,” she said, underscoring the critical role of child protection staff to monitor, report and negotiate such action plans. 

What speakers say:

• Children face physical, sexual, psychological violence on and offline
• Global Digital Compact helps to make online space safe for children
• Justice delayed is justice denied for children
• Child Rights Convention - ‘most ratified’ human rights treaty – prompted progress

In the ensuing interactive dialogue, several speakers called for accountability for offenses against children while others questioned the methods used to compile the report. 

Syria’s delegate highlighted that the section in the report listing UN engagement with different parties to end grave violations against children does not note “a single engagement in the interest of children of the Occupied Palestinian Territory” despite the report’s clear acknowledgement of the highest numbers of children killed and maimed there during the reporting period.

“States have an obligation not to enable the blacklisted Israeli armed forces to continue perpetrating crimes against our children,” the observer for the State of Palestine said and declared:  “Stop sending arms to Israel, sanction those who are responsible, do not obstruct justice or invent excuses for these crimes to continue without accountability.” 

Lebanon’s delegate said that since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli aggression against her country, over 127 children have been killed, over 690 injured and over 121,000 displaced.  “Lebanese children are having sleepless nights as most Israeli attacks occur at midnight,” she said, adding that those who survive are suffering from nightmares from the continuous sounds of explosions.  “No child can handle such horrors,” she said. 

Israel’s representative emphasized that her country values the protection of civilians, especially children, voicing concern over Ms. Gamba’s “overall methodology”, especially regarding data collection and the verification process of her report.  Despite the abundance of information regarding the use of children as human shields by Hamas, the report identified only a single case in which a health facility was used for military purposes and no case of the use of schools to that end, she noted. 

The representative of Estonia, speaking on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries, voiced alarm over the “extreme levels” of violence children are suffering in conflicts in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Somalia  and Sudan. Recalling the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for the Russian Federation’s President and Children’s Rights Commissioner, he stressed that the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to that country is a “serious crime”.  In a similar vein, the representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as an observer, emphasized the importance of holding perpetrators accountable, calling on States to cooperate with the Court and other mechanisms.

Children in Ukraine continue to be devastated, its representative said, “as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its third year”. Recalling Moscow’s attacks on schools and hospitals, she voiced grave concern for the Ukrainian children deported to the Russian Federation — subjected to indoctrination, forced citizenship, adoption and other crimes.

Rejecting the politicization of the protection of children, the Russian Federation’s delegate asked the Special Representative how his country is included in the report’s list of violating countries while Ukraine is absent.

Also taking issue, the representative of Nigeria said references to her country committing grave violations against children in the report are “too strong”. Nigeria has never restricted access to conflict areas by non-governmental organizations or accredited entities, she said, spotlighting the “Safe Schools Initiative” that provides education and psychosocial support to children in crisis. 

Serious offenses against children are being committed not just in conflict situations but in other contexts, experts said in their presentations, highlighting measures to address those violations.  “Violence against children has reached unprecedented levels,” said Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, spotlighting physical, sexual and psychological violence on and offline — from female genital mutilation and forced labour to trafficking and cyberbullying.  Noting that the scourge can be eliminated, she said that doing so “makes economic sense” because the financial cost of the violence is up to six times some annual Governments’ expenditures on health.  Accordingly, more States are growing budgets for child and social protections.

“Stronger transnational collaboration is required” to address the cross-border nature of crimes against children facilitated with new technologies, she asserted.  In that vein, the adoption of Global Digital Compact [by the General Assembly in September] provides another tool to prevent violence against children online globally, she added, also highlighting the coming launch of the Pathfinding global alliance of over 40 countries at the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogota.

“Children are spending more time in the digital environment than ever before,” observed Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on the Sale, Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children, presenting her report (document A/79/122).  Even though information and communication technologies can protect children’s rights, they also present opportunities for organized criminal groups and perpetrators to adapt their modus operandi.  Emerging technologies such as deep fakes and artificial intelligence can exacerbate the misuse of technology to sexually harass, take and share non-consensual images and videos, generate child sexual abuse materials, sexually extort children and livestream child sexual abuse. 

Spotlighting the recently adopted Global Digital Compact — which reinforces the global commitment to making the online space safe for all — she urged Governments to enact laws that punish both those who misuse the digital environment to create, share and distribute child sexual abuse materials, and impose sanctions on companies that profit from the misuse of technology to abuse children. 

Without urgent action, it will take 300 years to eliminate child marriage, said Manuel Fontaine, Special Advisor on Child Rights, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), underlining the need for redoubled efforts to reach the poorest, uneducated, rural and most vulnerable girls.  “Nine million girls would still be marrying in childhood in the year 2030,” he said, calling on Member States to adopt legal measures that address the root causes of the practice and support survivors through the upscaling of education and economic empowerment of women and girls.

In spite of all this, “wide-ranging” progress has been made in advancing children’s rights globally in previous decades, he observed. This is “not coincidental” he said, pointing out that the Convention on the Rights of the Child — adopted 35 years ago — has become the most ratified international human rights treaty, prompting transformative changes globally. 

Ann Marie Skelton, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said that the number of child victims of the six grave human rights violations verified by the UN rose exponentially in 2024, particularly in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar.  Moreover, the displacement of children has reached an all-time high, with poverty and inequality remaining the root cause of the challenges that children face daily. 

However, the organ lacks sufficient financial resources. “If the Committee is to serve as a last instance to remedy child rights violations, it needs to be equipped with adequate resources,” she asserted, emphasizing that “justice delayed to children is justice denied”.  Considering the 100 cases pending consideration, she asked:  “How much longer are we going to keep these children waiting?”  The upcoming General Assembly’s resolution on the human rights treaty body system is an opportunity for Member States to reiterate their commitment to strengthening the treaty bodies by addressing resources-related challenges, she emphasized.