The UN, in partnership with the European Union, has launched the #ACTtoProtect, a campaign for children affected by armed conflict. The international community has identified the six most common, grave violations against children in times of war: the recruitment and use of children directly in armed conflict, the killing or maiming of children, sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and hospitals, child abduction, and denial of humanitarian access.
Launching the #ACTtoProtect campaign, the European Parliament’s Coordinator on Children’s Rights, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), Ms. Virginia Gamba, expressed the importance of a comprehensive approach to these issues, and the importance for the EU and UN to join forces to end violence against children. The campaign has a three-year focus that aims to strengthen collaboration between the UN, civil society and the international community to support actions to end and prevent grave violations against children in conflict.