YouSaid · the spoken record

Abdi

lines on the record: 22
first: 2022-05-12
most recent: 2023-07-05
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“But the United Nations depends on the support of donors to sustain our efforts to provide children with the humanitarian services they need and to document grave violations. We call on Member States to scale-up support for United Nations efforts. Today there are more children at risk than at any other time in the last 75 years. The reason for this is plain to see: children are suffering and dying because of cruelty and indifference to their plight, because some political leaders and parties to conflict are simply failing to observe the principle of humanity in times of conflict. In conclusion, on behalf of UNICEF, I urge all States and entities to join us in putting children first and protecting them today so they can grow up to create a more peaceful world for future generations.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Let me be clear: United Nations humanitarian engagement does not legitimize these actors. In order to continue to make a difference for children in conflict, including through the provision of services and dialogue to end violations, we call on Member States to enable and support United Nations engagement with armed groups, including with armed groups that may be designated as terrorist. As the number of countries on the children and armed conflict agenda grows, so does the number of children in need of our protection and support. UNICEF co-leads this work in all of the more than 26 countries that are part of the agenda. As we announced at the Oslo conference, we are investing our core resources in the work of monitoring and reporting on grave violations against children to ensure that we can meet the needs of affected children.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Conclusions are an important tool for senior leaders and practitioners on the ground to strengthen advocacy with parties to conflict, donors, community leaders and beyond. We call on members of the Security Council to place the protection of children above other political considerations, including through expediting the adoption of Security Council’s Working Group’s conclusions that are robust, meaningful, and swift. As the report of the Secretary-General notes, non-State armed groups were responsible for more than 50 per cent of grave violations last year. In Burkina Faso, for example, almost 85 per cent of all violations were attributed to armed groups. Yet far too often, we encounter State actors that wish to prevent or curtail United Nations engagement with armed groups or de facto authorities for political reasons.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“But those commitments, whether they be action plans, prevention measures, handover protocols, endorsement of key instruments or adoption of legislation, must be implemented and backed by the political will of parties to conflict and their allies if meaningful change for children is to be effected. With over 27,000 violations verified this year, up from 24,000 last year, existing commitments are clearly not enough. UNICEF calls on parties to take meaningful and unambiguous action for children. We are disappointed by the lack of progress by the Security Council’s Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in adopting conclusions from the Secretary-General’s country reports, despite the commendable efforts of Norway and Malta as chairs of the Group.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“They included South Sudan, which committed to endorsing the Paris Commitments and Principles and the Vancouver Principles, and incorporating them into national legislation; Somalia, which committed to ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on involvement of children in armed conflict; and the Government of Norway, which committed NOK1 billion to programmes that prevent and respond to child rights violations in situations of armed conflict. Those countries should be commended and supported in their commitments to strengthening protections for children, and we encourage others to follow their lead.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“For example, handover protocols adopted in Burkina Faso and Nigeria last year outline steps necessary to protect children encountered, detained or identified in the course of conflict, including their swift transfer to civilian child protection actors responsible for their care and protection. We also applaud Member States that made bold commitments to keep children safe during last month’s Oslo Conference on Protecting Children in Armed Conflict.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Similarly, our understanding about where the recruitment and use of children is happening allows us to engage with parties to conflict for their release and to provide those children with support. In 2022, UNICEF and partners provided more than 12,460 children with reintegration or protection support. The United Nations-verified information reflected in the Secretary-General’s report also serves as the United Nations entry point for engaging with parties to conflict to urge them to take measures to better protect children. Over the past 18 months, several parties have committed to steps for the protection of children because of the United Nations engagement.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“We stand behind the veracity of the data and call on Member States to do the same. Critically, that data enables the United Nations and its partners to better target our efforts at preventing grave violations and supporting children who have experienced grave violations. For example, it helps UNICEF target prevention actions and responses to tragic incidents like the one that killed 27 children and injured 53 others last month in southern Somalia after ordnance exploded at a playing field. While UNICEF reached more than 9 million children globally with explosive ordnance risk education in 2022, the perils of widespread weapon contamination require us to do more.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, the implementation of the 2012 action plan led to a significant reduction in the number of children recruited and used by the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), including the screening and separation of over 1,100 children, leading to the delisting of the FARDC for that violation. One of the greatest strengths of the children and armed conflict agenda is the United Nations Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism for grave violations, which serves as the evidence base for the present report. The data is reliable and robust. It measures up to the scrutiny that comes with United Nations verification. Trained child protection experts meticulously collect that data impartially, independently and neutrally, in line with fundamental humanitarian principles.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“More than 1 million children have now been displaced by the fighting, and the United Nations has received credible reports, under verification, that hundreds of children have been killed and injured. The children and armed conflict agenda is effective, as we discussed at last year’s open debate (see S/PV.9096), there are countless stories of the positive impact that the children and armed conflict agenda has had on children affected by conflict globally. At least 180,000 children have been released from the ranks of armed forces and groups since the year 2000. And 39 action plans have been signed since 2005, in 18 different situations of conflict. Those action plans have succeeded in preventing and ending grave violations against an untold number of children through proactive measures taken by parties to conflict.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Those three situations have consistently appeared in the Secretary General’s report since the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism was established, in 2005, meaning that children in those contexts have faced unrelenting grave violations for years, and in some cases, like the children in the State of Palestine, for decades. Due to recent escalations, we expect verified violations in at least some of those situations to increase over the coming months. And while the eruption of a new conflict in the Sudan occurred outside of the reporting period for this year’s report, UNICEF is also gravely concerned about the impact of the ongoing conflict on the country’s 21 million children.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Mr. Abdi: Today is a difficult day in the history of the children and armed conflict agenda. This year’s report (S/2023/363) of the Secretary-General includes both the highest number of grave violations ever verified by the United Nations, at over 27,000, and the highest-ever number of situations of concern, at 26. UNICEF is gravely concerned by the plight of children in the situations most recently added to the report, including Haiti and the Niger this year, and Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ukraine in 2022. However, we should bear in mind that the highest numbers of grave violations against children were verified in long- standing protracted conflicts, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the State of Palestine and Somalia.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“They have already paid an unconscionably high price in this war. We must do everything possible to help ensure it does not also cost them their futures. Once again, as humanitarians, we will do everything we can to continue meeting the needs of the children affected by this war and to provide safety, stability and protection, but that will never be enough. Ultimately, children need an end to this war — their futures hang in the balance.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“Children already affected by conflict and climate crises across the world — from Afghanistan to Yemen and the Horn of Africa — are now paying a deadly price for another war far from their doorsteps. The repercussions of the war in Ukraine will continue to ripple across the globe. Ukrainian children have been uprooted from their homes, separated from caregivers and directly exposed to war. Their schools have been destroyed, and the critical infrastructure essential for their survival and well-being, including hospitals and water and sanitation systems, are being devastated by the fighting. Ukrainian children tell us that they want to reunite with their families, return to their communities, go to school and play in their neighbourhoods. Children are resilient, but they should not have to be.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“Humanitarians have reached millions of people in need across the country with health, education, water and essential supplies, as well as information, counselling and psychosocial support. Yet we know that the situation for children and their families in conflict-affected areas without access to humanitarian assistance continues to be grim. Children and parents tell us of enduring a living hell, in which they were forced to go hungry, drink from muddy puddles and shelter from constant shelling and bombardments, and of dodging bombs, bullets and landmines as they fled. The war in Ukraine has also had a devastating impact on the most vulnerable children globally, as world food and fuel prices have spiked to all-time highs.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“But enormous obstacles remain, including capacity and resource constraints, language barriers and unpredictable movements of children and their families. We must make every effort to reach those most at risk of being left behind. For the youngest learners, access to education can be especially challenging: less than 5 per cent of preschool-aged refugee children are estimated to be enrolled in public kindergartens. Children with disabilities need access to inclusive services and assistive technology, as well as targeted programmes to cover their specific needs, including rehabilitation. In the past month, we have seen small moments of relief as children and other civilians were evacuated from Mariupol and reached relative safety in other front-line locations.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“We are also supporting an ongoing digital campaign on explosive-ordnance-risk education, while providing education-related supplies. However, remote learning can be only a temporary solution. Lessons from the coronavirus disease pandemic show the importance of children learning in a school setting with their peers and teachers. In the broader region, thanks to the European Union’s temporary protection directive, Governments and municipalities in neighbouring countries are enrolling children in national school systems and alternative education pathways, which is helping ensure the continuity of children’s learning and supporting their completion of the school year. It is estimated that 3.7 million children in Ukraine and abroad are using online and distance-learning options.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“The education workforce in Ukraine — teachers, principals, social workers, psychologists and other professionals — are equally affected by this conflict. Supporting them so they can stay and deliver is more important than ever. We must also ensure creative, multifaceted, and flexible solutions that combine low- and high-tech methods to reach all children and minimize disruptions to their learning. In mid-March, over 15,000 schools resumed education in Ukraine, mostly through remote learning or in-person/hybrid options. The Ministry of Education and Science, supported by UNICEF and other partners, is doing everything possible to reach Ukrainian children, including supporting online education from kindergarten through grade 11.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“In 2021, the Security Council adopted resolution 2601 (2021), which condemns attacks on schools and calls for all necessary safeguards to uphold the right to education. The Safe Schools Declaration outlines what is needed to enhance protection of education in conflict. What is needed now is the courage, discipline, and political will to translate these words into action. Schools are a lifeline for children, especially in conflict. Schools are a safe space, with routines providing protection from harm and a semblance of normalcy. Schools are also critical conduits for information about the risks of deadly explosive ordnance, and they are a connector to essential health and psychosocial services.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“As of last week, at least 15 of 89 UNICEF-supported schools in eastern Ukraine had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war. Hundreds of schools across the country are reported to have been hit by heavy artillery, air strikes and other explosive weapons in populated areas, while other schools are being used as information centres, shelters, supply hubs or for military purposes, which will have a long-term impact on children’s return to education. These attacks must stop. All parties must honour their legal and moral obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian and human rights law, and ensure that the rights of children are upheld.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“Schools continue to be attacked and used for military purposes, and water and sanitation infrastructure has been affected. The war in Ukraine, like all wars, is a child-protection and child-rights crisis. Last month, UNICEF briefed the Council following the attack on Kramatorsk train station, which was an attack on families fleeing the violence and which interrupted the work of our team on the ground to deliver desperately needed humanitarian assistance. We meet again today after another horrifying attack, this time on a school in Luhansk, which is yet another stark example of disregard for civilian lives. Today, even more families are mourning the loss of loved ones. It is also a stark reminder that, in Ukraine today, education is also under attack. In February, the school year came to a standstill when the war broke out.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source
“Mr. Abdi: I would like first to express our appreciation to Ambassadors De La Fuente Ramírez and De Rivière for requesting today’s meeting. I would also like to thank the United States for calling this briefing during its presidency of the Security Council. It has been just one month since UNICEF last briefed this Council on the situation of children in Ukraine (see S/PV.9013). As each day passes, more Ukrainian children are exposed to the horrors of this war. In just this past month, the United Nations verified that nearly a hundred children were killed, and we believe the actual figures to be considerably higher. More children have been injured and faced grave violations of their rights. Millions more have been displaced.”
2022-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9032 (2022) · source