Thank you Madam Chair,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the OSCE Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict, which is co-chaired by Belgium, Italy, Norway, Poland and my own country Albania.

Firstly, allow me to warmly welcome the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict, Mrs. Virginia Gamba, to the Permanent Council and thank her for her report.

2023 was a particularly grim year for children in armed conflict. In his latest annual report, presented to the UN Security Council on 26 June, the UN Secretary General notes that “in 2023 violence against children in armed conflict reached extreme levels, with a shocking 21 per cent increase in grave violations” as a result of multiplying and escalating crises worldwide, including in the OSCE region and at its borders, such as in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Gaza. This is the highest number of grave violations monitored and verified by the United Nations in the last twenty-five years, since the first such report was published.

We remain deeply concerned about the continued killing and maiming of children due to explosive weapons in populated areas and attacks against schools and hospitals in Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces. In addition, we are alarmed by verified cases of abduction of children and reports of transfers of children by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups and Russian authorities located in territories of Ukraine temporarily controlled or occupied by the Russian Federation. In this context, we welcome the renewal of the listing of Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups.

We take positive note of the cooperation between the Ukrainian government and the United Nations in the implementation of a joint prevention plan to prevent grave violations against children. We encourage the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups to  develop and sign an action plan with the United Nations to end and prevent grave violations against children immediately.

Madam Representative,

In the Istanbul document of 1999, OSCE participating States agreed to: “develop and implement measures to promote the rights and interests of children in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, including refugees and internally displaced children.” and to “commit ourselves to actively promote children’s rights and interests, especially in conflict and post conflict situations”.

Indeed, protection of children in armed conflict should be regarded as an important aspect of any comprehensive strategy to resolve conflict. Therefore, we believe that the OSCE, with its comprehensive approach to security, should put more focus on this important issue.

Over the last years the Group of Friends on Children and Armed conflict has taken several initiatives to raise awareness about this topic within the OSCE.

In November 2023, we distributed for the consideration of all OSCE participating States an indicative list of issues on children and armed conflict, as an additional voluntary attachment to the annual questionnaire on the implementation of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. To date, 15 participating States have submitted the additional voluntary questionnaire out of 46 that have provided their replies to the main questionnaire on the Code of Conduct for 2024.

The group of friends also organized a seminar on preventing and combating conflict-related child trafficking. The seminar explored the specific vulnerabilities that expose children fleeing conflicts to the risk of becoming victims of human traffickers and discussed actions that national authorities can take to reduce these risks. Additionally, in June the Group of friends supported an event on ‘Children Born of War’, shedding light on the challenges faced by children born in and out of conflict situations.

In conclusion, madam Representative, let me express the support of the Group of Friends to your mandate and the work done by your office. We will continue to explore how the issue of Children and Armed Conflict can be integrated within the OSCE agenda and look forward to cooperating with your office in this regard.

I thank you