Secretary-General Urges International Conference to Join Forces, Stand Together, Ensure Every Child in Palestine, Middle East, Worldwide Grows Up in Peace

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message, as delivered by Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to the International Conference on the Role of the International Community and Civil Society Organizations in Promoting and Respecting the Rights of the Palestinian Child, in Amman today: 

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is clear:  every child, everywhere has the right to life, protection, and development.  Yet, these basic rights have been cruelly snatched away from the children of Palestine.

In Gaza, an estimated 44 per cent of all those killed are children and those who survive endure horrors no child should ever know.

Torn from their families and denied education.  Scavenging for food and firewood among rubble littered with unexploded ordnance.  Living amid rivers of sewage and towering piles of waste.  Risking their life and health with every step and suffering.  Many face lifelong disabilities and all will carry deep psychological scars that will reverberate for generations.

In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, an average of one Palestinian child has been killed every two days since October 2023.  Young lives are further constrained by an inherently discriminatory regime of occupation affecting their most basic rights.

Amid these nightmares, the entire United Nations family — including the backbone of the humanitarian response, UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] — strives to provide hope and dignity to children across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  UNRWA is irreplaceable and its vital work must continue unimpeded.

Let us spare no effort to support all these essential efforts and promote and respect the rights of the Palestinian child.  Let us remember and reinforce the rights of all children of the region, including children in Lebanon, and children in Israel who suffered from the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas.

Let us join forces as members of the international community and civil society organizations to end the cycle of violence, ensure respect for international law and protect human rights.  And let us stand together for a future where every child in Palestine, across the Middle East, and around the world can grow up in peace, safety, and dignity.