Covid has negatively impacted children, Shringla at UNSC

India has said that the Covid-19 pandemic has further negatively impacted children in situations of armed conflict, including by hampering their access to education, health and social services. It has made them susceptible to grave violations, particularly through recruitment and abduction. Addressing tha UNSC, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on virtually on Monday said that it is, therefore, important that States keep child protection concerns at the core of their pandemic response measures and recovery plans.

While spelling out the rise in scale and severity of violations perpetrated against children in armed conflict, the India Foreign Secretary said quoting Mahatma Gandhi who had once said, “If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children; and if they will grow up in their natural innocence, we won't have to struggle; we won't have to pass fruitless idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace and love for which consciously or unconsciously the whole world is hungering”.

He added, “We believe that there is a need for a more coordinated approach in implementing the child protection and counter-terrorism agendas. States need to demonstrate greater political will to hold the perpetrators of terrorism and their sponsors to account, and to fulfil the Council’s child protection obligations.” The virtual debate was organised by Estonia. The annual open debate marked the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Children and Armed Conflict agenda.