Addressing the General Assembly, António Guterres said that the world is witnessing more armed conflicts than at any time since the end of the Second World War.

“Too often, early warnings go unheeded, and alleged evidence of crimes committed by States and non-State actors are met with denial, indifference, or repression,” he told Member States on Wednesday.  

“Responses are often too little, too late, inconsistent, or undermined by double standards. Civilians are paying the highest price.”

The pledge

The Secretary-General’s address marked two decades since the 2005 World Summit, where global leaders made an unprecedented commitment to protect populations from the atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

Known as the Responsibility to Protect, or R2P, the pledge affirmed that sovereignty carries not just rights, but responsibilities – foremost among them, the duty of every State to safeguard its own people.

When national authorities manifestly fail to do so, the international community has a duty to act – collectively, timely and decisively – in accordance with the UN Charter.

An unfulfilled promise

“Two decades on, the Responsibility to Protect remains both an urgent necessity, a moral imperative and an unfulfilled promise,” he said.

He cited worsening identity-based violence, deepening impunity, and the weaponization of new technologies as compounding threats to populations around the world.

“No society is immune from the risk of atrocity crimes,” Mr. Guterres continued.  

A ray of hope

The Secretary-General also presented his latest report on the Responsibility to Protect, reflecting on two decades of progress and persistent challenges. It draws on a global survey showing that the principle still enjoys broad support – not only among Member States, but also among communities affected by violence.

“Communities see it [R2P] as a ray of hope,” he said, “but they also call for effective implementation at all levels.”

Mr. Guterres emphasised that prevention must begin at home: with inclusive leadership, the protection of human rights and the rule of law. And it must be supported worldwide through multilateral cooperation and principled diplomacy.

“No society is immune from the risk of atrocity crimes,” he said.  

“[Prevention] must be supported globally – through multilateral cooperation, principled diplomacy, and early and decisive action to effectively protect populations.”

UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

In September 2005, heads of states and governments from around the world gathered at the UN Headquarters for the World Summit.

Flashback: 2005 World Summit and the birth of R2P

The Responsibility to Protect was adopted by consensus at the 2005 World Summit – at the time, the largest-ever gathering of heads of state and government. The Summit also established the Peacebuilding Commission to support post-conflict recovery and the Human Rights Council to uphold human rights.

The R2P principle is built on three pillars: the State’s responsibility to protect its population; the international community’s role in assisting States in this effort; and the duty to take collective action when States manifestly fail to protect their people.

Since its adoption, R2P has helped shape international responses to atrocity crimes, guided UN operations, and informed preventive efforts through national, regional, and multilateral mechanisms.

Keep the promise

Yet the gap between principle and practice remains a central concern – one the Secretary-General is urging the international community to close.

“Let us keep the promise,” Mr. Guterres said. “Let us move forward with resolve, unity, and the courage to act.”

“From that day on, our home became a travel bag and our path became that of displacement … My childhood was filled with fear and anxiety and people I was deprived of,” she said, speaking via videoconference from Syria.  

Sila, now 17, described her experiences during the Syrian Civil War to a meeting of the UN Security Council held on Wednesday to discuss the findings of the Secretary-General’s latest report on Children and Armed Conflict.

The report documented a 25 per cent increase in grave violations against children in 2024, the largest number ever recorded in its 20-year history. 

“This year’s report from the Secretary-General once again confirms what too many children already know — that the world is failing to protect them from the horrors of war,” said Sheema Sen Gupta, director of child protection at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“Each violation against children in every country around the globe represents a moral failure.”

The real scale of the harm

The report presented to the Security Council is published annually to document grave violations against children affected by war. It relies entirely on data compiled and verified by the UN, meaning that the real numbers are likely much higher than reported.  

In 2024, the report documented a record 41,370 grave violations — including killing and maiming, rape, abduction and the targeting of infrastructure such as schools which supports children.  

“Each child struck by these attacks carries a story, a stolen life, a dream interrupted, a future obscured by senseless violence and protracted conflict,” said Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, whose office produced the report.  

While many of these violations occurred during times of conflict — especially as urban warfare is on the rise — grave violations can persist even after a conflict ends. 

They persist in the unexploded ordinances which still pepper the ground.  

“Every unexploded shell left in a field, schoolyard, or alley is a death sentence waiting to be triggered,” said Ms. Sen Gupta.  

They persist in the spaces which remain destroyed, impeding children from accessing healthcare and education.  

And they persist in the trauma and injuries which never fully leave a child.  

Scars that never heal

Children who survive the grave violations do not escape unscathed — if they suffered violence, the injuries will stay with them for a lifetime. And even if they were not injured, the trauma remains.

“The physical and psychological scars borne by survivors last a lifetime, affecting families, communities and the very fabric of societies,” said Ms. Gamba.  

This is why UNICEF and its partners have worked to provide reintegration programmes and psychosocial support for children who are victims of grave violations.

Sila said that the trauma of her childhood is still with her, and has pushed her to become an advocate for children in conflicts.  

“From that moment on, nothing has felt normal in my life. I’ve developed a phobia of any sound that resembles a plane, of the dark, and even of silence,” she said.  

‘This cannot be the new normal’

Ms. Gamba called for “unwavering condemnation and urgent action” from the international community in order to reverse the worrying trends which the report details.  

“We cannot afford to return to the dark ages where children were invisible and voiceless victims of armed conflict… Please do not allow them to slip back into the shadows of despair,” she said. 

Current funding cuts to humanitarian aid are impeding the work of UN agencies and partners to document and respond to grave violations against children.

In light of this, Ms. Sen Gupta’s call for the Security Council was simple: “Fund this agenda.”

She said that the international community cannot allow this to become “a new normal,” and reminded the members of the Security Council that children are not and should never be “collateral damage.”

Despite the devastation which the report detailed, there were “glimmers of hope” according to Ms. Sen Gupta. For example, the Syrian National Army signed an action plan which will prevent the recruitment, killing and maiming of children.  

Sila also spoke of hope — she hopes that hers is the last generation to suffer these grave violations.  

“I am from a generation that survived. Physically,” she said. “Our bodies survived but our hearts are still living in fear. Please help us replace the word displacement with return, the word rubble with home, the word war with life.”