Those who target schools, children with impunity must be held into account: India tells UNSC

At a UN Security Council debate, India's Permanent Representative Harish Parvathaneni called for absolute accountability against those targeting children in conflict zones, revealing that over 85 million children globally have completely lost access to education due to war

United Nations: India has called for bringing to account those who target schools and children with impunity, underscoring that protection of children without accountability is incomplete.

“Education is a right that should endure in times of conflict. It is a right whose fulfilment is among the most powerful contributions to lasting peace. India remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting children in armed conflict and to upholding their right to learn, to grow, and to realise their full potential,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said.

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He was addressing the UN Security Council open debate on “Strengthening the Prevention of and Protection of Education for Children Affected by Armed Conflict: From Normative Commitments to Effective Implementation” here Wednesday.

Parvathaneni stressed that “protection without accountability is incomplete. Those who target schools and children with impunity must be held to account.”

The UN Secretary General’s latest report on “Children and armed conflict” said that in 2025, violations against children in armed conflict reached “shocking levels,” with an unprecedented number of children affected.

The United Nations verified 38,558 grave violations, which affected 24,174 children in 2025 (15,493 boys, 7,990 girls, 691 sex unknown), the highest number of children affected by grave violations since the beginning of the mandate.

The number of children subjected to multiple grave violations continued to rise from 3,137 in 2024 to 3,176 in 2025.

“Parties to conflict failed to uphold or proactively undermined their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law and continued to commit grave violations with near-total impunity, resulting in excessive humanitarian consequences for civilians and civilian objects, disproportionately affecting children and the facilities and services they rely on,” the report said, adding that government forces were responsible for a majority of grave violations and were the main perpetrators of the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.

India noted that the Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict presents “alarming statistics” — attacks on schools rose by a staggering 44 per cent in a single year.

Parvathaneni said nearly 473 million children — more than one in six globally — live in or are fleeing conflict zones, and more than 85 million among them have no access to education whatsoever.

“These figures are a damning verdict on humanity’s collective failure to translate commitments into reality on the ground,” he said.

Emphasising that protection of a child’s education is protecting a nation’s future, Parvathaneni said that governments bear the primary responsibility to uphold their obligations to protect and promote a child’s rights.

He noted that in India, the Right to Education is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution, guaranteeing free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years. In order to ensure access to quality education to all, India launched DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) — the national digital platform for school education that has democratised access to quality learning through interactive content and AI-powered tools across multiple languages.

“Our domestic commitment to ensure access to affordable and quality education also shapes our engagement on this issue internationally,” he said, adding that India leveraged digital technology as a vital enabler of access to education, especially in regions and during times with disrupted physical schooling such as during the Covid pandemic.

“Our experience has convinced us that access to digital learning can be the bridge that helps children access education during conflicts,” he said.

Further, he underscored that investment in education for those bearing the heaviest burden of war is an imperative.

“India has made sustained investments in facilitating education for refugees and displaced communities from across our neighbourhood, recognising that continuity of learning is among the most powerful tools for resilience and recovery.”

India has also invested in rebuilding education infrastructure, including the construction of schools and vocational training centres, in different countries including our neighbourhood, he said.