General Assembly Security Council

UNSC High-Level Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict

 

(19 July 2022; 1000 hrs EST / 1930 hrs IST)

 

 India Statement

 

Mr. President 

 

  • We thank the delegation of Brazil for organizing this open debate on Children and Armed Conflict. We note with appreciation the presence of Ms. Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. We also thank other briefers for sharing their insights with us today. 

 

Mr. President 

 

  • Children are the most critical stakeholdersfor our future. This therefore requires protecting, nurturing and empowering them. The best interests of the child should be at the forefront of all our endeavours.Mahatma Gandhi had said and I quote "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

 

  • However, children continue to suffer disproportionately in most situations of armed conflict around the world. They remain most susceptible to sufferings and are particularly vulnerable to impacts of armed conflicts. 

 

  • Over the last two decades the UN Security Council has actively engaged to protect children in situation of armed conflict. While significant progress has been achieved, grave violations against children continue to persist, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further magnified the risks children face. It is, therefore, important that Member States focus on child protection measures in their pandemic response and recovery plans, as well.

 

Mr. President 

 

  • As noted by the Secretary General in his report, the scale and severity of violations perpetrated against children in armed conflict remains on the rise.  It is clear that there remain significant challenges to the effective implementation of this mandate. The international community has the responsibility and, indeed, the obligation, to do its utmost to provide support to children affected by armed conflict without any discrimination.

 

  • We appreciate the engagement of the UN, particularly the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, with parties engaged in armed conflict. This has resulted in the release of 12,214 children over the last year alone. 

 

  • National governments have the primary responsibility for protecting the rights of the child as mandated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Security Council must do all that is possible to support efforts of governments in this regard. We also encourage Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. 

 

  • Member states need tosupporteffective legal frameworks for protection and promotion of child rights. It is important to build an enabling and conducive environment to ensure holistic development of a child with special focus on nutrition, education and safety. Children who grow up in conflict and post-conflict situations often need a fresh start. Support to national governments to strengthen legal and operational tools for child protection is important in this context. 

 

Mr. President 

 

  • We stress on the need for ending impunity for all actors inciting and perpetrating grave violations against children in armed conflict situations. It is vital for Member States to develop a comprehensive legal framework in line with international standards, to ensure the effective prosecution of child-related crime. National governments have the primary responsibility for prosecuting and deterring such crimes in conflict situations on their territories, even if these are alleged to have been committed by non-state actors. Where required, the UN could assist member states in augmenting their capacities to deal with this issue. 

 

  • The Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes States parties’ obligations to promote the rehabilitation and social integration of children affected by armed conflict in an environment which fosters the “health, self-respect, and dignity of the child”. Close cooperation between the UN and its Member States is critical for developing an effective and sustainable policy for repatriation and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict. Member States need to work towards an inclusive approach to provide protection to child victims during the rehabilitation and reintegration process in post-conflict situations. 

 

  • A dangerous and worrying trend in global terrorism is the rising number of children that are recruited and involved in terrorism-related activities. For terror groups, children are most susceptible to manipulation, whether as active participants in terror or as human shields to protect the perpetrators of terror. School closures due to the pandemic have been misused by these terrorist groups to target children, including through online avenues, for radicalization and indoctrination in violent extremist ideologies. There is an urgent need for a more coordinated approach in implementing the child protection and counter terrorism agenda.  Member States need to demonstrate greater political will to hold the perpetrators of terrorism and their sponsors to account, and to fulfill the Council’s child protection obligations. 

 

  • The report of the Secretary General mentions that over 25% of child casualties (2,257 children) were caused by mines, improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war. It is a matter of deep concern that terrorist groups have resorted to land mines and IEDs as low cost and effective options to spread terror and threaten innocent civilians including children. Such usage has only increased; we need to strongly condemn and take effective measures to combat this trend. India supports the efforts of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP and other agencies which have been working in conflict zones across the world.

 

  • We recognize the importance of having sufficient resources and requisite number of child protection advisers in peacekeeping missions for the effective implementation of child protection programmes. The Council should consider incorporating adequate child protection provisions and capacity in all relevant mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations. There is also a greater need for constructive engagement with the respective national Governments in the formulation and implementation of child protection action plans, which is integral to sustaining durable peace.

 

Mr. President 

 

  • We also note with concern that despite the Council’s clear mandate, the Secretary General’s report includes situations that are not situations of armed conflict or threats to the maintenance of international peace and security. We must be cautious as attempts to selectively expand the mandate will only politicize it’s agenda. It  would distract us and even divert our attention from real threats to international peace and security and children in armed conflict.

 

  • To conclude, let me reiterate India’s firm commitment and steadfast support to United Nations in all its endeavours to protect children in armed conflicts.I thank you Mr. President.