Statement by Virginia Gamba
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Briefing to the Security Council on the situation of children in Syria (humanitarian)

Mr. President,
Distinguished Council members,

Firstly, allow me to thank the current President of the Council, Sweden, for giving me the opportunity to brief you today and share the most recent updates on the situation of children affected by the armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.

New York – The UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, welcomes the adoption today of the Security Council’s Resolution 2427, following the 15-member Council’s unanimous approval of the draft, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations, along with 95 co-sponsors.

The resolution, adopted during the Security Council Open Debate on children and armed conflict, adds a series of measures to strengthen mechanisms to prevent violations against children in conflict.

Statement by Ms. Virginia Gamba
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict
“Protecting Children Today Prevents Conflict Tomorrow”

9 July 2018

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Prime Minister Löfven,

Excellencies,
Executive Director Henrietta Fore
Civil society briefer Yenny Londoño
Members of the Security Council
Ladies and Gentlemen,

New York, 27 June 2018 – The number of children affected by armed conflict and the severity of grave violations affecting them increased in the past year, concludes the annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict released today.

New York- Children continued to bear the brunt of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and were victims of over 11,500 grave violations committed by [more than] 40 parties to the conflict verified by the United Nations between 2014 and 2017. This is the conclusion of the sixth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the DRC [S/2018/502], which also states that this represents a 60% increase in grave violations compared to the previous reporting period, covering the years 2010 to 2013.