The recent remarks by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell to the United Nations Security Council are a timely and powerful reminder of the devastating toll that armed conflict continues to take on children around the world.
Children do not start wars. Yet they too often suffer their greatest consequences.
Whether in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or in any other place affected by conflict, children are killed and injured, separated from their families, displaced from their homes, deprived of education, and left to carry trauma that may endure long after the fighting has ceased.
The international community has a shared responsibility to protect children from these horrors and to uphold the rights guaranteed to every child under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These obligations do not diminish during times of conflict; they become even more urgent.
At Child Helpline International, we believe that protection means more than ensuring children’s physical survival. Every child also deserves the opportunity to be heard.
When homes, schools and communities are torn apart, children still need trusted adults who will listen without judgement, offer reassurance, provide accurate information, and help them navigate fear, grief, separation and uncertainty. Child helplines, alongside community-based services and mental health support, are an essential part of that protection. They offer children a safe and confidential place to seek help, often at moments when they feel they have nowhere else to turn.
As humanitarian and recovery efforts continue, children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health must be recognized as fundamental components of recovery, not secondary considerations. Rebuilding schools, hospitals and homes is vital. Rebuilding trust, hope and resilience is equally important.
Our own work through the Unheard Voices initiative has reinforced a simple truth: no child should be without access to trusted support when they need it most. In times of peace and in times of conflict alike, every child should be able to reach someone who will listen, believe them, and help them find safety.
We therefore join UNICEF and partners across the child rights community in calling for sustained action to protect children affected by armed conflict, to ensure safe humanitarian access, to strengthen child protection systems, and to invest in the services that help children recover and rebuild their lives.
Children should never become casualties of political failure. Their rights, dignity and wellbeing must remain at the heart of every effort towards peace.
Because every child has a voice.
And no child should be left unheard.
Helen Mason
Executive Director
