India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, P. Harish, on 25 June called for immediate accountability against those who target schools and children in conflict zones, describing the situation as 'a damning verdict on humanity's collective failure' to honour its commitments. He was speaking at a UN Security Council debate on children and armed conflicts held in New York.

Scale of the Crisis

Citing the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's annual report on children and armed conflict, Harish highlighted that attacks on schools surged by a staggering 44 per cent in a single year — 2025. The same report recorded 38,558 grave violations against children in 2025, affecting 24,174 children — the highest figure since the UN mandate to produce such a report was established 30 years ago.

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

India's Call for Accountability

'Protection without accountability is incomplete. Those who target schools and children with impunity must be held to account,' Harish said at the Security Council debate. He framed the crisis not merely as a humanitarian emergency but as a systemic failure to translate international commitments into ground-level action.

Most of the verified violations in 2025 were concentrated in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia, according to Vanessa Frazier, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Frazier described 2025 as the worst year for serious violations against children in at least 30 years.

India's Digital Education Model as a Solution

Beyond condemnation, India offered a concrete proposal: its own digital education platform, DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing), as a replicable model for reaching children displaced by conflict. Harish said DIKSHA has 'democratised access to quality learning through interactive content and AI-powered tools across multiple languages.'

'Our experience has convinced us that access to digital learning can be the bridge that helps children access education during conflicts,' he said. India has also invested in rebuilding education infrastructure — including schools and vocational training centres — in several countries, particularly in its neighbourhood, he added.

Emerging Threats: Drones and AI in Warfare

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that the evolving nature of warfare is compounding dangers for children. Drones, autonomous and remotely operated systems, and AI-supported targeting tools are making an already dangerous situation significantly worse. 'As the nature of warfare evolves, our commitment to protecting children must remain steadfast,' Russell said.

What Comes Next

The Security Council debate signals growing multilateral pressure to enforce existing frameworks protecting children in conflict, including the UN's Children and Armed Conflict mandate. India's dual approach — demanding accountability while offering digital education solutions — positions it as both a moral voice and a practical contributor in this space. Whether the Council translates this debate into binding resolutions remains to be seen.