Statement by Oļegs Iļģis, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of Latvia to the United Nations, at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on CAAC
New York, 24 June 2026
Thank you, Madam President, and I also thank Colombia for convening this open debate.
I thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Ms Vanessa Frazier, and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms Catherine Russell for their valuable remarks. I also thank
Mr André Prospery Raymond for his insightful contribution and even more for his continuous work on children’s protection in Haiti.
Latvia welcomes the annual report of the Secretary-General and expresses its utmost appreciation for the CAAC mandate and the important work of the Office of the SRSG.
Despite a reduced number of country situations on the CAAC agenda this year compared with 2024, grave violations against children remain widespread and deeply concerning. It is heart-breaking that, as we mark 30 years of the CAAC agenda, the UN has also verified the highest number of children affected since the establishment of the CAAC mandate. For the first time, states - not non-state armed groups - are responsible for the majority of verified grave violations against children. This should concern us all.
Madam President, I will highlight three points.
First, the protection of children's right to education must remain a priority. Attacks on education extend beyond physical attacks on educational facilities. In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russia blatantly violates the rights of children by implementing re-education, indoctrination, and militarization policies.
In Myanmar, the military use of 38 schools was verified, along with 124 attacks on schools in total. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, students have been affected by demolitions, military raids on schools, and detention while travelling to school. In Somalia, Al-Shabaab attacked teachers who refused to implement the group’s “self-appointed” curriculum.
The closure of schools is also often linked to other grave violations against children. In Haiti, school closures coincide with the large-scale recruitment of children into armed gangs, where children now make up around 50% of members. For girls, the absence of school means increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriage. This is especially true in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have completely banned girls’ education beyond the 6th grade.
Second, effective monitoring and reporting are indispensable for responding to grave violations and ensuring accountability. The Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism remains one of the most important tools available to the international community, and its capacity must be strengthened. Latvia will continue to advocate for strengthened child protection capacity in UN missions, including during drawdowns and transitions. Fewer child protection actors mean fewer verified violations. We therefore recognize the indispensable work of child protection actors on the ground, who continue to carry out their duties despite increasingly challenging circumstances and reduced funding. The support to SRSG Ms Frazier and her office is more important than ever. We look forward to continued cooperation.
Latvia hopes that the Working Group on CAAC can also resume its work swiftly, receive pending country reports, issue conclusions, and make recommendations for the protection of children.
We underline that the UN and independent human rights monitors must be granted immediate, unhindered access to carry out independent fact finding and provide a clear picture of violations against children, ensuring these abuses do not go unrecorded. This is especially urgent in relation to Russia’s unlawful deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, and its continued denial of access to Ukrainian territories it has occupied.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates both the scale of grave violations against children and the urgent need for accountability. The Secretary-General’s report verifies the killing and maiming of children, their detention, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the recruitment and use of children for sabotage activities by Russia. The CAAC mandate is not only about identifying such violations but about ending and preventing them, particularly when the perpetrator is a permanent member of the Security Council, the very body that mandated this discussion. These violations by Russia must stop. They must be fully documented, investigated, and the perpetrators must be brought to account.
Third, we must uphold our obligations on child protection. International humanitarian law, human rights law, and established child protection norms must be respected and implemented. The Security Council has set clear expectations through its resolutions on prevention, monitoring, accountability, and the reintegration of children formerly recruited or used by armed actors. We call on all parties listed in the Secretary General’s report for committing grave violations to engage with the UN and adopt concrete, time bound action plans to end and prevent such abuses. Those who have already signed action plans must implement them fully and without delay.
Madam President,
To conclude, I would like to quote the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said: “There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected”.
I thank you.