On October 31, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, gave an intervention during the Security Council Open Debate on "Children and Armed Conflict."

In his statement, Archbishop Auza noted that the numbers of children impacted by armed conflict continually increase, citing the Secretary-General’s 2017 report that describes how 2016 was the worst year on record for children impacted by armed conflict. More children than ever before have been subjected to killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, recruitment as child soldiers and suicide bombers, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of access to humanitarian aid. Archbishop Auza called for more efforts to safeguard children from being recruited or abducted, and for Governments to treat children involved in armed conflict as victims rather than combatants. This would entail rehabilitation and reintegration into their families and society, something that Catholic organizations and institutions have been doing for many years in post-conflict areas.

His statement can be found here.