Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

RECOMMENDATIONS -

I urge all parties to adhere to their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to uphold the rights and special protections afforded to children. I call upon all parties to allow and facilitate safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access and to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and assets, as well as to respect and protect civilians and civilian objects. 

 I call upon all parties to protect hospitals and health workers and to implement Security Council resolution 2286 (2016). 

 I urge parties to conflict to refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, to undertake the clearing of explosive ordnance and to provide risk education and victim assistance. I call upon donors to provide financial and technical assistance in that regard. I urge Member States to become parties to and to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention). I regret the announcements by certain States about their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, given the impact of these weapons on children.

 I call upon parties to conflict to develop and implement action plans with the United Nations and other commitments to protect children. I reiterate my call upon Member States to support such efforts, including by facilitating United Nations engagement with non-State actors. 

 I call upon the United Nations Security Council to ensure that child protection provisions and capacity are included in all relevant mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions, in line with Security Council resolution2764 (2024)

 I call upon Member States to reaffirm their commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including through the campaign entitled “Prove it Matters”, launched by my Special Representative. I urge Member States to become parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. I urge Member States and parties to conflict to consider every human being below the age of 18 years as a child. 

I call upon Member States to endorse and implement the Paris Principles, the Safe Schools Declaration, the Vancouver Principles and the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas. 

I call upon States to adopt and implement legislation that criminalizes violations of international law against children, hold perpetrators accountable, provide assistance to victims and cooperate with international accountability mechanisms. 

I reiterate that the detention of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and that children should be treated primarily as victims and exclusively within child justice systems. Children should never be detained or prosecuted solely for their or their parents’ actual or alleged association with armed groups, including those which are currently under sanctions enacted by the Security Council. I urge Member States to prioritize the best interests of the child and to give child protection actors access to detained children. 

I reiterate my call upon all countries concerned to facilitate the safe and voluntary repatriation and reintegration of children allegedly associated with Da’esh, in line with international law and with full respect for the relevant principles, including the best interests of the child. I call upon Member States to ensure the consistency of counter-terrorism measures with the applicable legal framework, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

I call upon donors to scale up financial support for survivor-centred assistance, reintegration and education programmes. I encourage donors to fund sustainable child protection capacity, including to monitor grave violations against children through United Nations child protection capacities.

United Nations Secretary-General