UN Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict
“Effective strategies to end and prevent grave violations against children”
Statement delivered by Ms. Deivi-Päivi Jahami, Attaché, Permanent Mission of Estonia
New York, 25 June 2025
President,
We thank you for convening today’s open debate and the briefers for their valuable presentations.
Estonia aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the European Union and would like to add the following.
More than twenty-five years have passed since the adaption of the UN Security Council landmark Resolution 1261, condemning the targeting of children in armed conflict. Despite that, we witness alarming trends across the world, particularly blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. We also mark 20 years since the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1612, establishing the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism. Meanwhile, grave violations against children are not only persisting but rising.
As a candidate for the Human Rights Council for the 2026–2028 term, Estonia has determined the protection and promotion of the rights of the child as one of our priorities. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the children and armed conflict agenda and have joined the SRSG’s global campaign “Prove It Matters”. We call on others to do the same.
President,
To end and prevent grave violations against children, accountability is of utmost importance. Perpetrators must be held responsible for their actions and be brought to justice. Accountability deters others from committing violations and helps victims and their close ones overcome their experiences. We support international investigative mechanisms and call for full cooperation with the International Criminal Court. Accountability is a legal and moral obligation.
Effective implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1261 and its subsequent resolutions is equally important. We commend the credible, impartial, and evidence-based work carried out by the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism and urge all armed forces and armed groups to engage with the UN to ensure protection measures for children in situations of armed conflict.
Furthermore, a gender-transformative approach to children and armed conflict agenda is needed. Girls face disproportionate risks in armed conflicts, including sexual violence and exploitation. Prevention cannot be effective without integrating gender perspectives into child protection and addressing the root causes of these risks.
I would also like to put emphasis on the protection of education. Attacks on schools and their military use are a serious violation of international law. Estonia calls for universal endorsement and implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration.
President,
The report sheds light to grave violations committed against children in a number of countries, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia, Syria, Nigeria and Myanmar. Millions of children are affected by the ongoing armed conflicts across the world, each and every one of them deserves attention and must be protected. We urge all actors in all armed conflicts to comply with international law and prioritize child protection.
A permanent member of this Council is listed among those responsible for grave violations against children. The report references 474 new and verified cases of killing and maiming committed by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. The crimes committed by Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine will not go unpunished. Russia’s deliberate and systematic deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia is a war crime and genocide under international law. Russia’s acts must be investigated, perpetrators brought to justice, and children returned to their families or legal guardians without delay.
We are horrified by the scale of suffering in Gaza, where the highest number of child casualties has been verified, as well as denial of humanitarian access for children. This cannot be justified under any circumstances. Denial of humanitarian access for children is one of six grave violations and can constitute a war crime. The deliberate and widespread destruction of Gaza’s educational infrastructure directly undermines the rights of Palestinian children and youth to education and contravenes the Safe Schools Declaration. We call for an immediate de-escalation in the Middle East and all parties to return to the negotiation table. This is the only way to protect children from more suffering.
Children must never be the price of an armed conflict. Their protection is not optional – it is a duty.
Thank you.
