(Photo courtesy of Anadolu)
ONTARIO – The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday aimed at addressing the growing use of digital technologies to commit or facilitate violations and abuses against children in armed conflict.
The Greece-sponsored resolution calls on UN member states to strengthen measures against threats targeting children through digital platforms, including online recruitment and other technology-enabled abuses.
It also emphasizes the importance of digital literacy in helping children recognize online dangers and prevent potential exploitation.
The resolution urges countries to strengthen compliance with their obligations under international law to prevent and address violations against children, whether committed directly or facilitated through digital technologies.
Greece, which chaired the UN Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in 2025, emphasized the need to adapt existing child protection mechanisms to emerging technological threats.
Before the vote, Greece’s UN Ambassador Aglaia Balta warned that the Security Council must address the digital dimensions of violations against children.
“The question before us is not whether the Council should address the digital dimension of grave violations, but whether it can afford to remain silent while others exploit it,” Balta said.
She stressed that violations against children remain serious offenses regardless of the technology used to carry them out.
“Recruitment through a smartphone is still recruitment. A mandate that cannot see where violations begin is a mandate that falls behind,” she added.
Balta described the resolution as an initial step toward strengthening international safeguards as digital technologies increasingly shape children’s lives.
“This resolution does not close the chapter on this urgent issue; it opens it,” she said.
She also urged the international community to ensure that children affected by armed conflicts remain protected both offline and online.
“Thirty years ago, the international community resolved that children caught in war would no longer be invisible. Today, we must make sure they do not vanish in the digital space,” Balta said.
The resolution reinforces existing international child protection efforts while recognizing the evolving risks posed by digital technologies in conflict-affected areas.
