The Security Council combats digital violence against children in armed conflict

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On Monday, the UN Security Council unanimously issued a historic resolution aimed at reducing violence against children using digital technologies in the context of armed conflicts.

The text of the resolution, which calls on parties to conflicts to refrain from using social media, electronic gaming platforms, and messaging services to recruit children, includes a series of proposals for member states.

In particular, these countries are required to “take measures within their national systems to protect children, with the aim of reducing the risks of using digital technologies to commit acts of violence against them or increase their severity, as well as establishing mechanisms for reporting these violations and providing support to victims.”

These countries are called upon to invest in distance learning facilities, digital skills, and education.

The resolution also calls for "supporting developing countries and helping them enhance their capabilities, with the aim of reducing the digital gap between regions and within each region."

Greek Ambassador Aglaia Palta, who chairs the Security Council and sponsored the text, said: “This resolution strengthens our collective response to threats that are evolving at a pace as rapid as the development of the technologies that support them.”

She noted that parties involved in armed conflicts are “adapting their methods” to the development of digital technology. “If we do not adapt our approaches, the gap between existing frameworks and emerging threats will widen, leaving children more vulnerable,” she said.

Although the vote was unanimous, the United States, Russia, China and Somalia later expressed reservations about the decision.

In 2025, the United Nations recorded 38,558 “serious violations” against 24,174 children in armed conflict, an unprecedented level.