Statement by H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, at Security Council meeting on “Children and Armed Conflict: Addressing the Consequences of the Denial of Humanitarian Access for Children"
Madam President
I thank Malta for convening today’s important discussion. I also thank SRSG Gamba, Deputy Executive Director Chaiban of UNICEF and Executive Director Niger- Thomas for sharing their perspectives.
In the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States Parties committed to make the best interest of the child the primary consideration in all actions concerning children. They also undertook to take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children affected by armed conflict.
Denial of humanitarian access to civilians, including children, and attacks against humanitarian workers assisting children are prohibited under the 4th Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols and may amount to a crime against humanity and a war crime.
This Council has also identified the denial of humanitarian access for children as one of the six grave violations against children in armed conflict.
Despite such a robust legal regime, in recent years, denial of humanitarian access for children has consistently been among the most prominent grave violations verified by the UN in the Secretary-General’s annual reports on Children and Armed Conflict. The December 2023 report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG Gamba) indicates this violation continued to be verified at alarmingly high levels, with government forces as the main perpetrators.
More children in conflict situations are increasingly going without food and medicine and are at risk of dying from hunger and disease. This is compounded by lack of access to essential services such as water, sanitation, electricity, healthcare, and education.
Examples stretch across the globe. They include Sudan where according to UNICEF, ‘widespread malnutrition and a shattered health system threaten to kill far more children than the armed conflict itself’; Gaza where malnutrition among children has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels in record time and a man-made famine is imminent. All while food is available but access is restricted by the occupying power. Haiti where protracted gang violence is affecting children’s safety, health and overall wellbeing, and one in four children suffer from chronic malnutrition; and Afghanistan where the restrictions on Afghan women working in the humanitarian sector is gravely diminishing access of Afghan children and girls to life-saving services.
The denial of humanitarian access can have devastating long-term impacts on the overall well-being of children, and denial over protracted periods will affect their growth and development. It also increases the vulnerability of children to other violations and abuses, including recruitment and use by armed forces or armed groups, abduction, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.
The intentional deprivation of, or impediment to the passage of humanitarian assistance indispensable to children’s survival by parties to conflict is illegal in any context. There must be accountability.
In this regard, we offer our condolences to the families and colleagues of the staff of Central Kitchen who were killed.
Actions that impede the provision of vital humanitarian support to children must never be condoned. These include suspension of aid delivery, attacks on humanitarian workers and convoys, administrative impediments, and the adoption of restrictive laws and decrees related to humanitarian work and workers. Counterterrorism measures and sanctions regimes must be consistent with international law and not restrict or criminalize the delivery of humanitarian aid for children.
The Security Council must make effective use of the tools at its disposal to combat the incidence of this grave violation.
It is important that the CAAC Working Group issue conclusions in a timely manner given their value in promoting accountability and encouraging conflict parties to take specific actions to prevent and end violations against children.
Guyana is of the view that given the upward trajectory of this violation, denial of humanitarian access for children should be considered as a trigger for listing in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual report. We also look forward to the development by the Office of the Special Representative of the guidance note on the denial of humanitarian access.
Guyana calls on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law and facilitate unimpeded, rapid, and safe access to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to children in situations of armed conflict. Children must be protected at all times.
I Thank you.
