Children and Armed Conflict: Annual Open Debate*
Tomorrow (25 June), the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on children and armed conflict. Vindhya Persaud, Guyana’s Minister of Human Services and Social Security, is expected to chair the meeting. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba will present the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict, dated 17 June. Briefings are also expected from Director of Child Protection and Migration at UNICEF Sheema SenGupta, and a child civil society representative from Syria.
The Secretary-General’s annual report covers the period from January to December 2024 and provides information on the six grave violations against children in situations on the children and armed conflict agenda, which include 25 country situations and one regional monitoring arrangement covering the Lake Chad Basin region. The six grave violations, as determined by the Security Council, are child recruitment and use; killing and maiming; abductions; rape and other forms of sexual violence; attacks on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access. With the exception of the denial of humanitarian access, committing any of the other five violations could lead to a party being listed in the annexes of the annual report.
The report stresses that violence against children in armed conflict situations reached “unprecedented levels” in 2024; the UN verified 41,370 grave violations, of which 36,221 were committed in 2024 and 5,149 were committed earlier but verified in 2024. It notes that this represents a “staggering” 25 percent increase compared with the previous reporting period and the highest number recorded since the monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM) on violations against children was established in 2005. This marks the third consecutive year where precipitous increases in violations were documented.
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of landmark resolution 1612 of 26 July 2005, which established the MRM and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, tomorrow’s meeting will allow speakers to reflect on the achievements of the children and armed conflict agenda and the challenges it faces. Several speakers are likely to emphasise the concrete impact of this agenda, including the release of over 200,000 children from armed forces and groups since 1999 through dialogue and advocacy efforts by the UN. According to the Secretary-General’s latest annual report, more than 16,000 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support in 2024.
The briefers and many member states may stress that the alarming global rise in grave violations despite the robust normative framework of the children and armed conflict agenda highlights the urgency of effective action. This is especially crucial in light of challenges such as the financing crisis facing the UN and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the difficulties affecting the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, including Council divisions and the delayed start of its operation in 2025 due to the late agreement on the allocation of subsidiary body chairs. (For more information, see our 12 June research report titled “Children and Armed Conflict: Progression, Regression or Maintenance of the Agenda?”) Some speakers are likely to emphasise the need for continued political and financial support by the international community for the agenda. This includes steps such as supporting the MRM by facilitating adequate child protection capacities in UN peace operations, including in the context of drawdown or transition of such operations, and in entities such as UNICEF and NGOs.
Guyana, June’s Council president, has circulated a concept note, which states that this year’s open debate will be held under the theme of “effective strategies to end and prevent grave violations against children”. In line with trends outlined in the Secretary-General’s report, the concept note proposes to focus on ways to address the killing and maiming of children—including as a result of the use of explosive ordnance and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, as well as the long-term consequences of explosive remnants of war (ERW)—and rape and other forms of sexual violence against children.
Killing and maiming was the most prevalent violation documented in the Secretary-General’s latest report, which records the killing (4,676) and maiming (7,291) of 11,967 children. Tomorrow, the child civil society briefer is expected to share their first-hand experience of growing up in a conflict-affected country, including witnessing relatives being killed or maimed by airstrikes and ERW. The briefers and Council members may echo some of the messages contained in the Secretary-General’s report, which urged conflict parties to refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, to undertake the clearing of explosive ordnance, and to provide risk education and victim assistance. Speakers are likely to emphasise the need for donors to provide technical and financial support for such efforts. Some speakers may call on member states to endorse the 2022 Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA). Among the member states that have endorsed the declaration are Council members Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, the UK, and the US.
The Secretary-General’s report documents a 35 percent increase in cases of rape and sexual violence against children compared with the previous year. It also describes a “dramatic” increase in instances of gang rape, which “underlines the systematic use of sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of warfare”. Speakers at the open debate are likely to express alarm about these figures, particularly considering that cases of sexual violence are often underreported owing to factors such as stigmatisation and fear of reprisals. Some may also voice concern about the disproportionate effects of this violation on girls, who accounted for 95 percent of the cases documented in the Secretary-General’s latest report. Several speakers are expected to highlight the need for governments to provide specialised and gender-sensitive services—including psychosocial, health, legal and livelihood support—to survivors of sexual violence.
The briefers and Council members are also likely to reflect on other trends described in the report. There may be expressions of concern about the sharp increase in the number of children who were subjected to multiple violations—3,137 in 2024, up from 2,684 in 2023—due to the convergence of abduction, recruitment, and sexual violence, which the report describes as “an alarming escalation of brutality”. Speakers are expected to voice alarm about the increasingly shrinking space for humanitarian activity, especially considering that 2024 was the deadliest year ever recorded for aid workers. There may be reference in this regard to the recent guidance note on the denial of humanitarian access that the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict launched on 12 June. Several speakers are also likely to call on conflict parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the special protections afforded to children, and highlight the need for enhancing accountability for the commission of grave violations against children.
In addition to cross-cutting issues, several speakers are likely to highlight specific country and regional situations. The Secretary-General’s report notes that the highest number of grave violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Nigeria, and Haiti. In light of the rise in violations in Haiti, the Secretary-General included in the annexes to his report a party from the country for the first time. The Viv Ansanm coalition of armed gangs has been listed for the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Members may present contrasting views regarding some situations that have been politically sensitive in the Council, such as the OPT and Ukraine. One controversial issue that may be mentioned is the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. In early June, Russia circulated a draft presidential statement on the matter, noting that during the 2 May direct talks between the sides in Istanbul, Ukraine handed over to Russia a list containing the names of 339 Ukrainian children allegedly transferred to Russia. The proposed draft text welcomed Russia’s readiness to examine the list and take necessary measures to restore family links and urged Ukraine to cooperate with Russia on the matter. It appears that some Council members were uncomfortable with adopting a product about a process that they were not privy to, and questions were raised about such issues as the number of children cited in the text. Members were unable to reach consensus and Russia announced that it would no longer pursue this initiative.
Some speakers might note as a positive development that the Somali National Army and the Somali Police Force have been delisted for the violation of recruitment and use of children following the implementation of an action plan on the matter. These parties remain listed for killing and maiming as well as rape and other forms of sexual violence. The Secretary-General also decided to remove from his next report three situations—Iraq, Pakistan, and the Philippines—citing decreases in the numbers of grave violations and measures adopted by the respective governments to protect children.
At the time of writing, Council members were discussing a draft statement on children and armed conflict that Guyana proposed. It is expected to be read at the stakeout ahead of the open debate.*
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**Post-script (25 June): Ahead of the open debate, 12 Council members—Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the UK—read at the stakeout a joint statement on children and armed conflict, which Guyana proposed. This was the first such joint informal statement by Council members on the children and armed conflict agenda. In their statement, the members condemned all violations and abuses committed against children and underscored that accountability for perpetrators is essential to prevent the recurrence of grave violations. Among other things, the members voiced alarm about the findings contained in the Secretary-General’s latest annual report on children and armed conflict. They also expressed support for the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, UNICEF, and other UN entities engaged in child protection.
Russia, Somalia, and the US did not join the statement. During the discussions on the text, it seems that Russia requested several amendments. One issue was its request to remove references to the Secretary-General’s report, which was unacceptable to several other members. Russia apparently also opposed language in the initial draft that would have emphasised the importance of strengthening the UN’s capacity to monitor and report verified impartial data on grave violations against children in conflict, which would enable engagement with listed parties. This language was amended in the final text to express support for the monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM) in providing “accurate, objective, reliable and verifiable information to enable advocacy and effective responses to all violations and abuses committed against children”. Russia—which has been listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual report since 2023 for attacks on schools and hospitals and the killing of children in Ukraine—had previously made similar requests during the negotiations on resolution 2764 of 20 December 2024. While the language on the MRM was amended during the discussion, the references to the Secretary-General’s report were retained, leading Russia to break silence on the text on 24 June and eventually not to join the statement. Somalia also did not join the statement, apparently due to similar opposition to references to the Secretary-General’s report.
It seems that the US also made several suggestions to the text but eventually decided not to join the statement. This is consistent with its approach to informal statements on other thematic issues such as women, peace and security (WPS) and climate, peace and security since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
