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On the occasion of the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès reaffirms Belgium's commitment to improving the protection of children in armed conflict. The United Nations aims to improve the situation of these children by addressing the six most serious violations of children's rights: killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools or hospitals, denial of access to humanitarian aid and finally, the recruitment of child soldiers. Last year, the UN Secretary General reported no less than 25,000 gross violations of children's rights in some twenty countries. One in three of those violations is attributed to state actors.

Today the world celebrates International Children's Day. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Protocols urge countries around the world to make policy changes and align legislation with the rights of the child, to invest in specific areas such as education, to take measures against the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child labor, and to protect children in armed conflicts.

On 29 and 30 June, the European Union organises the fourth Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region. Belgium will also take part in this meeting, which brings together all the relevant actors to discuss the effective approach to the situation. The aim is to support the United Nations in its efforts towards a comprehensive political solution and to mobilise resources for Syrian citizens and neighbouring countries hosting refugees from Syria. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for important dialogue with civil society actors.

Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Goffin on the 20th anniversary of two Protocols to the UN Children's Rights Convention, May 25, 2020.

On the 29th of April, after months of negotiations lead by Belgium, the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict reached an agreement on recommendations on how to counter violations of children’s rights in Afghanistan.

On the 15th of April, after months of negotiations lead by Belgium, the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict reached an agreement on recommendations on how to counter violations of children’s rights in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Yesterday, Belgium – as chair of the Working Group for Children and Armed Conflicts – announced conclusions on the situation of children in the armed conflict in Yemen were adopted unanimously. The fight against impunity, and more in particular children’s right violations, has long been one of Belgium’s foreign policy priorities. Also on the humanitarian front, Belgium is in the leading group of European donors with more than 9 million euros of humanitarian aid specifically targeted at Yemen.

During its two-year membership (2019-2020) of the UN Security Council, Belgium attaches great importance to ‘children and armed conflict’. The theme also occupies a central position during the Belgian presidency of the Security Council (February 2020).

Belgium is putting the issue of children in armed conflict on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, which our country presides over this month. February 12 is the “International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers”, and our country will use that symbolic day to issue a call to action. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense Philippe Goffin will chair the briefing at the UNSC on integrating child protection measures into peace processes. King Filip will address the UNSC on behalf of our country.

In 1989, the international community made a historic commitment to all children by adopting the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Today, the Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrates its 30th anniversary.