Those Who Violate the Rights of Children in War Must Be Held Accountable

This week, the United Nations will hold an open debate on violations of children in wartime, and while this topic would seem morally clear, the debate is sure to be contentious. Earlier this month, with the U.N. Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, the armed forces of Israel, as well as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, join the armed forces of and armed groups in Russia, Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan as documented perpetrators of grave violations of the rights of children. In nearly 33,000 documented incidents, children were killed, starved, maimed, kidnapped, and recruited as soldiers in more than two dozen war zones.

The secretary-general’s annual report and its annexed list of perpetrators, the so-called “ list of shame,” have served as a unique and largely effective tool for identifying perpetrators and pressuring them to end violations and protect children in times of war. The report’s impact and credibility rely on applying the same standards to all parties across all armed conflicts. Protecting children from war should not be subject to political considerations. And yet, in this week’s debate perpetrators and their allies will surely disagree about the inclusion of parties that have harmed or killed children in war.

As a full-time advocate working for accountability for violations against the rights of children, I can say the global situation for children in conflict has never looked more dire. The U.N. secretary-general has recently reported that the proportion of children killed in 2023 tripled as compared with 2022, with 40% of global killings of children happening in Gaza. Leading child protection organizations have documented that 468 million children (or more than 1 in 6 children globally) live in areas affected by armed conflict. There has also never been the same level of witness to violations committed against the rights of children. Intense, bold campaigns in the news and on social media have captured the engagement and compassion of millions of people outside of war zones, resulting in calls for increased aid, intervention, and cease-fire.

The suffering and death of children in war—from the kidnapping of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas by Hamas, to the 46 Ukrainian children placed for adoption in Russia, to the Palestinian children with their names written in ink on their bodies so they can be identified when they die—have been incredibly brutal.

Parties involved in armed conflict must respect and ensure respect for international law, particularly international humanitarian law and international human rights law. This means not recruiting children, not subjecting them to sexual violence, not torturing them, not bombing hospitals or schools, and not creating famine. These frameworks do not consist of mere guidelines but binding commitments signed by states designed to protect individuals affected by armed conflict, including children. Violations of international law should not be tolerated—not by other states, not by the U.N. Security Council, and not by the citizens living in countries that are party to these laws.

Accountability efforts must be strengthened. This includes both political and financial efforts at domestic and international levels. Cases of universal jurisdiction have been undertaken for war crimes in third countries, but this has had a limited impact on crimes committed against children. States can do more, bringing those responsible before justice. When states and armed groups are not held accountable, it signals that no one is safe, that the agreements we’ve made in global fora like the U.N. will not protect anyone, especially not the most vulnerable. This inevitably impacts global cooperation. Diplomats are recalled, trade agreements become tenuous, travel between nations is discouraged or prohibited.

As the director of a network of organizations working to protect children from the effects of war, I must note that the work to protect children is cross-cutting. Addressing the problems faced by children in war requires a holistic approach that integrates child protection into all humanitarian and development efforts. The international aid community should consider the impact of its work on children first and collaborate across disciplines to adopt strategies that address the needs of children. By viewing child protection through this integrative lens, these organizations can create more effective and sustainable solutions, enabling more children to survive war.

The suffering and death of children in war—from the kidnapping of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas by Hamas, to the 46 Ukrainian children placed for adoption in Russia, to the Palestinian children with their names written in ink on their bodies so they can be identified when they die—have been incredibly brutal. But until we begin to meaningfully hold accountable those who commit these grave violations, naming and shaming and engaging with parties to armed conflict will remain among the best tools we have for perpetrators to change their behaviors.