She kept asking herself: “What did I do for this? Why do I deserve this?” This is a question for the entire international community. A 10 year old Palestinian girl Nadine Abdel-Taif cried over the ruins of her home. More than 30 schools in the Gaza Strip were destroyed by gunfire, and nearly 600,000 students were forced out of school. In the occupied Palestinian territories, 72 Palestinian and two Israeli children were killed in the 11-day conflict this past May. In one of these two attacks, nearly 100 girls were killed on May 8. In Afghanistan, as foreign troops began to withdraw, the local security situation took a sharp turn for the worse, with two attacks on children in less than two weeks between the end of April and the beginning of May. In 2020 alone, more than 26,000 grave violations against children were recorded in the Secretary-General's report. Sadly, 25 years on, children are still the most innocent victims of war. These achievements are inseparable from the tireless efforts and hard work of the Secretary-General, his Special Representative, UNICEF and all those working on the front line of child protection. The protection of children has been integrated into all aspects of peace operations and peacebuilding at the United Nations. For the past 25 years, the international community has made great efforts in protecting children from the scourge of war. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UN mandate on children and armed conflict. I thank Secretary-General Guterres, Executive Director Fore and all other briefers for your briefings. Your Excellency President Kaljulaid, I welcome your presence at the meeting and thank you for presiding over this meeting.
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