On July 9, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, gave an intervention during the Security Council Open Debate dedicated to the theme of how “Protecting children today prevents conflict tomorrow.”

In his statement, Archbishop Auza said that children suffer most from war and conflict and how we treat them has consequences for their future and the world’s. He stated that the international community can do better in protecting children from being maimed, killed, used as human shields, human bombs, child soldiers and sexual slaves, and other abuses. The Children and Armed Conflict agenda is an important framework for doing so, he said, and called for its full implementation. He focused on three areas of improvement: strengthening preventative measures against the human rights abuses that occur against children; prioritizing effective rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers; and guaranteeing the right to education for children victimized by arm conflict.

His statement can be found here.