India tells UNSC that those targeting schools, children must be held accountable
India has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to hold accountable those responsible for attacking schools and children, stressing that efforts to protect children
India has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to hold accountable those responsible for attacking schools and children, stressing that efforts to protect children remain incomplete without justice and accountability. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, made these remarks while addressing the UNSCon Wednesday, news agency PTI reported. Parvathaneni said, "Education is a right that should endure in times of conflict. It is a right whose fulfilment is among the most powerful contributions to lasting peace. India remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting children in armed conflict and to upholding their right to learn, to grow, and to realise their full potential." He emphasised that "protection without accountability is incomplete" and called for those who target schools and children to be held accountable. PTI reported that India's remarks came after the UN Secretary General released its report on Children and armed conflict, which said that in 2025, violations against children in armed conflict touched "shocking levels," with a record number of children being affected.
Violations against children in armed conflict According to PTI, the report, in 2025, said the UN verified 38,558 grave violations, which affected 24,174 children, including 15,493 boys, 7,990 girls, and 691 sex unknown, making it the highest number of children being affected by serious violations since the agency began documenting such cases. The news agency said the report also revealed that the number of children subjected to several grave violations continued to see an increase from 3,137 in 2024 to 3,176 in 2025. The report said, “Parties to conflict failed to uphold or proactively undermined their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law and continued to commit grave violations with near-total impunity, resulting in excessive humanitarian consequences for civilians and civilian objects, disproportionately affecting children and the facilities and services they rely on.” Also Read | How can children be made equal stakeholders in their education?
It also stated that the government forces accounted for most of the grave violations and were primarily responsible for the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and restrictions on humanitarian access, according to PTI. UN report presents 'alarming statistics': India to UNSC India's permanent representative to the UN said the 2025 report presents "alarming statistics", and the attacks on schools rose by a whopping 44% in a span of a year, according to PTI. Parvathaneni said that roughly 473 million children, which means more than one in six globally, are either living in or are fleeing conflict zones, with roughly 85 million among them having no access to education. Trump says Iran school strike culprit may never be known In separate news, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that it may never be known who was responsible for a deadly strike on a girls' school in Iran on the first day of the US-Israel war in Tehran, which killed scores of children, Reuters reported.
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