2020 was a year of headlines dominated by covid-19 and preoccupied governments working hard to tackle the health pandemic. But 2021 must be the year where governments widen their horizons and address the full spectrum of crises.
When the global health crisis picked up pace last year, I wrote about the need for world leaders to make sure developments across the globe were not left unchecked. The need to continue to invest time and resource in preventing conflict, protecting civilians and holding perpetrators of violations to account remains as vital as ever. This has become even more acute as covid-19 has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, in particular for the most deprived and marginalised children living in conflict.
Yet despite the UN Security Council’s efforts last year in passing its resolution that called for a global ceasefire, we have not seen a regression in conflicts or the violence perpetrated by them. The war in Yemen continues to rage on, where civilians fall victim to airstrikes and where they face high levels of food insecurity. At the same time we see new conflicts erupting, from Armenia to Ethiopia. An international community lacking bandwidth to address conflict-related crises would have devastating consequences for civilians.
As always, children continue to bear the worst brunt of these conflicts. Last November, we published our annual flagship report which showed that over recent years there has been an increase in the number of children living in conflict and the numbers of violations committed against them.
Just last month alone, multiple spikes of violence across the globe killed dozens of children. At least 17 children were killed in three separate attacks in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. At least 83 people, including children, were killed in a surge of violence in Darfur, Sudan. And at least 18 children were killed in Syria in Northern Aleppo in Syria.
We cannot allow another year of missing action. But as we begin 2021, there is room for hope and opportunity to make a difference on not only covid and climate change, but also conflict.
For the UK, 2021 will be a critical year as it begins to chart its path to deliver on its ‘Global Britain’ aspirations, which include being ‘a force for good’. The UK will be hosting two major global summits – the G7 and COP26 – and will be focusing its energy on establishing a strong relationship with a new White House administration that is committed to reviving global cooperation on the most pressing challenges of today.
As the UK presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) begins today, the Government has its first opportunity to put this agenda back on top of the Council’s to-do list. As the penholder for areas such as Yemen and Myanmar, where the need to end the crises and strengthen protection for children remains as urgent as ever, the Government has a chance to push for stronger global action.
We also know that through its previous initiatives such as the Safe Schools Declaration and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK has the ability to lead from the front and bring other countries together. With the UNSC presidency and its global summits later this year, Britain should work with partners to redouble efforts to tackle conflict-related crises unfolding around the globe. Responding to this agenda is not only fundamental for Global Britain, but also for global peace and security.
The UK has already signalled it will tackle the triple challenge of conflict, covid and climate change as part of its council presidency this month. But it mustn’t stop there. 2021 is an opportunity to push conflict and civilian protection back up the diplomatic agenda, and to remind world leaders as they continue to grapple with the health pandemic of the need to address the crises in covid’s shadow.
Photo: Dara*, age ten, lives in a bombed-out building in Idlib, Syria after she and her family were forced to leave their village because of shelling and airtrikes. (photo: Save the Children)
* name changed to protect identity
