Guyana urges global action to protect children in armed conflict

Chairing the United Nations Security Council’s annual Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, Guyana, through the Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, issued an urgent appeal for the world to act decisively and collectively to shield the most vulnerable from the brutality of conflict.
Held under Guyana’s Presidency of the Council at the UN Headquarters in New York, the debate came amid sobering data – a 25 per cent surge in grave violations against children in 2024, a figure that Minister Persaud warned requires urgent action.
“Children do not start wars, and they should never be made to suffer their horrific consequences. Ultimately, their best protection is peace,” Minister Persaud declared.
She reaffirmed Guyana’s unwavering commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol. Minister Persaud expressed regret that although the convention is the most widely ratified human rights treaty, there is persistent disregard for children’s rights, including their rights to life, dignity, education and health.
“The umbrella that international law should provide to children is being dismantled daily and inaction by the international community and impunity for perpetrators are emboldening greater violations,” Dr Persaud said.
Minister Persaud urged consistency in condemning all violations and abuses of children and called on all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law.
She also urged them to end and prevent violations and abuses against children immediately.
Further, the minister highlighted that 2024 was the second consecutive year that the highest numbers of grave violations against children were verified in the Occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip.
Her presentation also focused on the high child casualties caused by contact with unexploded ordnance and mines that turn playgrounds into minefields.