UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (APP): Highlighting that children living under foreign occupation are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses and violence, Pakistan on Wednesday called for intensifying efforts to strengthen child protection by addressing root causes of conflicts and resolving them through peaceful means.
“In Occupied Palestinian Territory – both in Gaza and the West Bank – countless children have been killed or scarred for life,” Pakistani delegate Zulfiqar Ali said in his remarks to the UN Security Council meeting held under Arria-Formula format named after a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Diego Arriva.
At the same time, he regretted that the plight of children in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, previously documented in the UN chief’s reports, has been omitted, despite the worsening of their plight after India’s illegal and unilateral measures of 5 August 2019, when New Delhi annexed the disputed territory.
“This selective omission risks obscuring the full-scale of violations affecting children in situations of foreign occupation,” said Zulfiqar Ali, a first secretary at the Pakistan Mission to the UN.
Arria-Formula meetings are informal, enabling Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects
Tuesday’s meeting, ‘On Red Hand Day 2026: Safe Education to Prevent the Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Conflict,’ was convened by Panama.
Addressing the 15-member Council, the Pakistani delegate also said that during India’s aggression against Pakistan in May, civilian areas were deliberately targeted, resulting in the martyrdom of 15 children, among other civilian casualties.
Pointing out that international law protects children in armed conflict, including their right to education and protection of schools, Zulfiqar Ali said these safeguards have been elaborated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in UN resolutions, including UNSC resolution 1998 on attacks against schools and UN General Assembly resolution 64/290 on right to education in emergencies.
Pakistan, he said, was committed to implementing its provisions.
“We have also signed a roadmap with the SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary-General) and are working diligently to implement it, further strengthening child protection in line with our national priorities and international commitments.”