The UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict was established in 1999 following the publication, in 1996, of a report by Graça Machel entitled the “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”. Her report highlighted the disproportionate impact of war on children and identified them as the primary victims of armed conflict.

The current Special Representative is Virginia Gamba. Read her profile here.

The role of the Special Representative is to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, raise awareness, promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by war and foster international cooperation to improve their protection. She reports yearly to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council and raises challenges faced by children in war to political bodies, such as the UN Security Council, as well as relevant Governments to maintain a sense of urgency amongst key decision makers as well as to secure political and diplomatic engagement.

Since 1999, the systematic engagement of the UN Security Council has firmly placed the situation of children affected by armed conflict as an issue affecting peace and security.

The Security Council has created a strong framework and provided the Office of the Special Representative tools to respond to violations against children.

The website of the Special Representative is https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/