Opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations on Children and armed conflict: Integrating child protection into peace processes - 8721st Security Council Meeting. ---
Extract of the UN Secretary-General remarks:
"Children simply have no role in conflict.
And yet, as Graca Machel said in her landmark 1996 report: “Millions of children are caught up in conflicts in which they are not merely bystanders, but targets.”
Children below the age of 18 constitute more than 50 per cent of the population of most countries affected by war, and are among the most vulnerable, unable to protect themselves from its impact. Some 250 million children live in countries affected by conflict.
2018 saw more than 12,000 children killed or maimed in conflict – the highest recorded figures since 1996, when the General Assembly created the mandate of my Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. More than 24,000 violations were documented and verified, compared with 21,000 in 2017.
Attacks on hospitals and schools deny children education, healthcare and lifesaving emergency assistance and force families from their homes. Children may be subjected to horrific abuses in war zones, including sexual violence and abduction. They may be trained to use deadly weapons, or exploited as cooks and messengers.
These violations cause lasting damage to the children themselves, and to their communities and societies. They can feed the grievances and frustrations that lead to extremism, creating a vicious circle of tension and violence. "
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