(Adnkronos) – Italy reamains committed to protecting the rights of children in conflict zones and combatting their recruitment by armed forces or groups, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement on Thursday – International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.
“In recent years, violence against children in armed conflicts has reached alarming levels: the latest available figures from the United Nations, relating to 2024, report 41,370 serious violations, including killings, mutilations, recruitment, sexual violence, abductions and attacks on schools. This represents a 25% increase on the previous year,” said Tajani.
“Children continue to be the first victims of indiscriminate attacks, ceasefire violations and the worsening of humanitarian crises,” the statement underlined.
“We can’t look on as the tragedies unfold which impact innocent children,” Tajani said.
Tajani recalled the significant humanitarian initiatives launched by the government to help children affected by conflicts, including the transfer from Gaza to Italy of hundreds of Palestinian children in need of medical care.
“The protection of children, with particular attention to those living on the margins of society or through conflicts, is at the heart of Italy’s action in the main international bodies and is one of the priorities of its membership of the UN Human Rights Counci in 2026-2028,” Tajani concluded.
