Urgent task to protect children in conflicts

By almost every measure, 2024 was one of the worst years on record for children living in conflict zones in UNICEF's history. More than one in every six children globally now live in areas affected by conflict, and are forced to face unthinkable violations.

Unfortunately, 2025 does not look much better for children.

Children do not start wars but they pay the highest price for them. They are more likely than adults to be killed or maimed by bombs or weapons. They lose the protection and care of family members and friends. They're abducted from their homes, recruited by armed groups and sexually violated. Their schools and hospitals are destroyed, and many are denied life-saving aid, based simply on who they are or where they live.

From the Democratic Republic of Congo to Haiti, to Myanmar, Sudan and beyond, we cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the world's unchecked wars. The United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, refuses to accept this deadly new normal. We can all work together to make change happen.

Citizens everywhere can begin by refusing to avert our gaze from children's suffering, or not staying silent when attacks on children occur, just because it is too distant or the situation too complex. We must insist that protecting children from conflicts they had no hand in triggering is the cornerstone of our shared humanity. We should support leadership that takes decisive action to end and prevent attacks and violence against children trapped in war zones.

All warring parties where conflicts rage must act to fulfil their obligations to protect children — ending attacks that kill and injure children or destroy their schools, hospitals and other infrastructure and services they rely on, and stopping abduction, sexual violence and recruitment of children in conflicts.

Warring parties must also unfailingly enable safe access to life-saving and protective services and supplies for children. This includes taking action to prevent and end attacks on humanitarian workers risking their lives to save and protect children.

Governments that have influence over warring parties should use that influence to ensure children are protected in accordance with the requirements of international law, reinforcing diplomatic efforts to prevent and end violations against children.

International peace and security institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council and regional organizations, should re-engage in collective action to consistently prioritize the safety and well-being of children trapped in armed conflicts, including proactive diplomatic efforts to end conflicts.

The international community should urgently increase investment in programs to protect children impacted by conflicts, alongside investments to intensify efforts to monitor and report on violations against children and advocacy to end them once and for all.

Communities in conflict-affected areas must be supported to create protective environments for all children, taking into account their vulnerabilities based on their age, gender, disability and legal status.

Action is being taken, including here in China, by both the government and ordinary citizens. Last year, for example, people, including children, in China raised 19.5 million yuan ($2.7 million) to support children affected by the conflict in Gaza. These funds were donated to the embassy of the State of Palestine in Beijing, which in turn donated them to UNICEF.

The funds are now being used to meet the urgent needs of children in Gaza in fields such as education and child protection. This is helping many of the most vulnerable children in Gaza access basic education through temporary learning spaces.

In other words, we must all come together to protect children from the horrors of war, reverse this deadly "new normal" of attacks against children, and preserve our shared humanity.

Children cannot wait. We must act now.

The author is UNICEF representative to China.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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