Shelly Whitman*
The UN Secretary-General will release the Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict to the Security Council this month. It will be noted that serious challenges to the protection of children affected by armed conflict continue to persist. Attacks on children’s well being that range from abductions, to attacks on schools and hospitals, to the recruitment and use of children and the direct killing and maiming of children have all been key features of the conflicts that currently exist. Flagrant violations of the laws of war as well as human rights law by parties to war, which include governments, are unfortunately common features that directly impact our children.