Effective strategies to end and prevent grave violations against children - Security Council, 9945th meeting

With child rights violations at record high, speakers urge course correction in day-long Security Council debate.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 03:01:16
• Production Date: 25 June 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: VIRGINIA GAMBA
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: CHILDREN; CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS; CIVILIAN PROTECTION; CHILD WELFARE; HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS; CONFLICT; INTERNATIONAL LAW; RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
• MAMS Id: 3417521
• Parent Id: 3416890
• Alternate Title: MTG SC 9945 VIOLATIONS AGAINST CHILDREN 25 JUN 2025 AM PT 1

Description

In the wake of unprecedented violence against children in 2024, the Security Council heard today that the world is failing to protect them from the horrors of war — and that urgent action is needed to correct this course — during a day-long debate on children and armed conflict. 

“The year 2024 marked a devastating new record,” reported Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, as the UN verified 41,370 grave violations against children — a “staggering” 25 per cent increase from 2023. “Behind these numbers are the shattered stories, dreams and futures of 22,495 children, each of them profoundly affected by war, displacement and the collapse of protection systems that should have served as their shield,” she stressed. Spotlighting the “sharp” rise in the number of children subjected to multiple grave violations — 3,137 in total — she said this is a “stark reminder of the compounded vulnerabilities children face in conflict settings”. 

• Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (S/2025/247) 
• Letter dated 10 June 2025 from the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (S/2025/366) 

The open debate will provide an opportunity for Member States to consider the findings of the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/79/878-S/2025/247) pursuant to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018) and renew their commitment to the children and armed conflict mandate, including the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. 

It is also an opportunity to highlight that children remain disproportionally affected by armed conflict and to urge parties to conflict to end and prevent grave violations against children in accordance with their obligations under international law. 

• Briefer: Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict 
• Briefer: Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
• Briefer: Civil society briefer 

Related Sites and Documents

S/2025/247

S/2025/366