Today, grave violations are committed against Children and Youth in over twenty war-affected countries from Asia, the Middle East and Africa to Latin America. 

Conflicts make #Children and #Youth uniquely vulnerable. They are killed, maimed, orphaned, abducted, deprived of education and health care, sexually violated and left with deep emotional and physical scars. 

Today, we are observing a new conflict in #Europe. But whatever the motives and the reasons, war is always a bad solution since it represents a failure of dialogue and an obstacle to peace. 

The prominence of civilian casualties, including children and youth, in contemporary conflicts is a reflection of the changing nature of conflict, in which we see the increased use of improvised explosive devices and new technologies, the conduct of hostilities increasingly in urban or densely populated areas, and a blurring of the distinction between civilians and combatants. 

Children and youth are suffering from other consequences of conflict such as poverty, unemployment, poor governance and the disintegration of families and communities.

This is why we, as the youth of nations, must call for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and ask to be involved in the process of peacemaking and peacekeeping…