United Nations: Protecting Children Is an International Legal Commitment
Vanessa Fraser, the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, called on world leaders to listen to the voices of children affected by wars and to take decisive steps to protect them, stressing that safeguarding children is not merely a political or moral choice but an international legal commitment.
In a press statement, Fraser said, “The words of children must inspire us. We cannot change 2025, but we can work hard to change their reality in 2026.”
She noted that grave violations against children in conflict zones reached alarming levels this year.
Fraser added that 2024 was the worst year since the establishment of her office dedicated to protecting children in conflicts nearly 30 years ago, with the highest number of documented violations recorded, warning that these numbers should not become the “new normal.”
She urged all parties to immediately cease violations, release children, and hold perpetrators accountable, emphasizing that violations of children’s rights may constitute war crimes.
Additionally, she called on governments to enhance funding for child protection, support relief efforts, monitoring, and justice, alongside investing in peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed in its annual report that hunger, wars, and diseases affected the lives of millions of children throughout 2025, highlighting that the number of children in crisis and conflict zones had never been this high, with about one in five children living under such conditions, nearly double the number in the mid-1990s.
