Madam President,

Thank you very much for convening this important annual debate.

We are also thankful to Ms. Gamba and Ms. Gupta for their valuable inputs.

Unfortunately, the situation of children continues to be adversely and disproportionately affected by the prevailing security, protection and humanitarian challenges caused by the armed conflicts around the world.

The latest report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict highlights this alarming trend, revealing a striking 25 per cent rise in grave violations committed against children.

As emphasized in the report, the highest numbers of grave violations were verified due to Israel’s aggression.

Since Israel’s assaults began in Gaza strip, more than 18 thousand Palestinian children were killed by Israeli attacks. And many more were injured or orphaned.

Gaza’s schools are either damaged or being used as shelters. Hundreds of thousands of children have been deprived of access to education.

According to OCHA, preliminary analysis indicates that out of more than 46 thousand children under five who were screened for malnutrition in the second half of May, almost 6% were diagnosed with acute malnutrition.

Deliberate attacks against children and civilian infrastructure must not and cannot go unpunished.

Those responsible must be held accountable under international law.

Madam President,

Throughout the Syrian conflict, children faced grave violations including killing and maiming by the Assad regime and terrorist organisations such as PKK/YPG and its offshoot.

They also suffered from forced-recruitment, abductions, attacks on their schools, imposition of ideological curricula, sexual violence and deprivation of liberty.

The latest report shows that the Action Plan the so-called “SDF” signed with the UN to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18 has not lived up to expectations.

It is important for the UN to sustain its efforts to document the terror practices of PKK/PYD/YPG and other terrorist groups.

We are pleased to see that the new Syrian government continues its efforts to build an inclusive and capable state mechanism, also to deal with these problems.

We believe that the report’s emphasis on the situation of the children in detention centers and camps in northeastern Syria is also of critical importance.

We reiterate our readiness to cooperate with the Syrian government on the security and management of detention facilities and camps in northeastern Syria following the take over of these facilities by Damascus government.

PKK and its offshoots’ violations against children are not limited to Syria. They continue their violations in Iraq by killing, maiming and abducting children.

They target the children by kidnapping and exposing them to “ideological brainwashing” as recruits in the field.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to register the position of my country with regards to the ungrounded allegations in the report on my country’s counter-terrorism operations in Syria and in Iraq:

Türkiye is obliged and entitled to take appropriate measures against direct and imminent terrorist threat posed to its national security from Syria and Iraq in line with its inherent right of self-defence as outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

These operations are conducted in full compliance with international law and international humanitarian law and with utmost attention and care to avoid any harm to civilians, including children, and civilian infrastructure.

Madam President,

The impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine on children is also concerning. As the most vulnerable group, children require special attention under these circumstances.

While supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we also took role in the protection of Ukrainian children. Since March 2022, in cooperation with UNICEF, Türkiye has hosted nearly 2000 Ukrainian orphans and their companions.

Two rounds of direct talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have been facilitated by Türkiye and we stand ready to continue with our efforts for achieving peace.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once again that Türkiye attaches utmost importance to the agenda of the UN which addresses the situation of children in armed conflict and is ready to support all efforts for their protection.

Thank you again.