Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, during the Security Council briefing on the theme “Children and armed conflict: prevention of grave violations” - February 13th, 2023

Madam President,

Brazil would like to congratulate Malta for organizing this briefing on such an important matter. Brazil is fully engaged with the CAAC agenda and we have also hosted a signature event on children and armed conflicts during our presidency of the Council, in July 2022, when we discussed the latest annual report of the Secretary-General.

Let me thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, and the Special Representative for Violence against Children, Ms. Najat M'jid, for their commitment and continued efforts in engaging with parties in conflict-affected countries to protect children. I would also like to thank Divina for her moving and inspirational testimony.

A world that abandons its children has no future. It is a world that inspires neither confidence nor hope. Children brutalized by armed conflicts lose their right to a future, to a project of life, and they may lose faith in peace. Let us not lose sight of our intergenerational responsibilities and let us not forget the temporal dimension of human existence.

Despite our efforts to date, there is still a long road ahead of us. In many contexts, children remain subject to the six grave violations as a result of failures of compliance with international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law.

Brazil believes that children may bring the members of the United Nations together. While we have recently seen deep divisions between members of this Council on a range of issues, protecting children from war should be a unifying force capable of bringing member states to common ethical and political grounds.

Madam President,

I would like to share some key ideas on prevention of grave violations against children in armed conflicts. First, a crucial part of prevention is ensuring accountability at the earliest stages possible. Impunity stimulates further violations. Accountability plays an essential role in curbing impunity and, therefore, preventing violations. Brazil not only calls for the adoption of national accountability measures, but also urges relevant international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, to complement domestic efforts. There can be no protection of children with impunity for crimes committed against them, and domestic and international jurisdiction must be complementary in the realization of justice.

Greater attention must be paid to children who have been forcibly displaced, regardless of their legal status. Stateless, refugee, migrant and internally displaced children are at a higher risk of facing grave violations and other serious abuses, including recruitment and use by parties to conflict, sexual exploitation, trafficking and detention. Experience of physical and psychological trauma and lack of access to services to fulfill children`s basic needs can have lasting consequences for them and their families.

Second, there can be no dignity for children without social and economic development. This Council has already recognized that security and development are mutually reinforcing and key to attaining sustainable peace. In order to prevent and respond to violations against children, Brazil believes there is a need for a comprehensive approach, involving mutually reinforcing political, security, economic, social, and human rights considerations.

In this context, we call for increased cooperation between the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission in order to make the integration of efforts more effective. Brazil also encourages the Office of the SRSG and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict to make full use of the expertise of the Peacebuilding Commission, which is uniquely positioned to bridge cross-pillar discussions.

Third, education is an important pillar of prevention. In countries facing security and humanitarian crises, education is at the forefront of peacebuilding efforts. Schools must be protected from attack, as every girl and boy has the right to education without fear of violence. It is particularly important to prevent the undermining of girls' education by targeted attacks on girls' schools and the denial of schooling in certain countries. We need to integrate a solid gender perspective in the monitoring and reporting of violations against children, as boys and girls are likely to suffer in different ways.

Education for peace is key to breaking the cycle of violence in situations of conflict. If you allow me to rephrase the famous preamble of the UNESCO Constitution, "it is in the minds of girls and boys that the defenses of peace must be constructed".

Fourth, if counterterrorism takes place at the expense of our children, it will have defeated its purpose. Any counterterrorism action must abide by international law. Children should always be treated primarily as victims, including those associated with groups designated as terrorists, and they should only be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time.

Brazil calls for preventive action to be taken at national, regional and international levels. States, United Nations entities and regional bodies play a complementary role in preventing abuses against children. In this context, Brazil reiterates the importance of ensuring that child protection provisions and capacity are included in all relevant mandates of UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions.

Madam President,

While children do not initiate wars, they are among the ones that suffer their consequences the most. Hence, the most effective way to protect children from the inevitable suffering caused by war is to prevent it in the first place. Investments in peaceful settlement of disputes, education and economic and social development are always the best choice, as they also provide children with 4 a telling example of how to resolve disputes through dialogue, not violence or coercion. 

I thank you.