{"id":60123,"date":"2026-09-27T16:19:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=60123"},"modified":"2026-09-28T06:13:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:13:04","slug":"60123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/27\/60123\/","title":{"rendered":"Malta leads UN discussion on protecting children in armed conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malta led a high-level meeting at the United Nations in New York on the protection of children in armed conflict, with a particular focus on the devastating impact of explosive weapons in populated areas and the challenges posed by new and evolving technologies in warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting, organized by the Permanent Mission of Malta in New York together with UNICEF, War Child Alliance and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, was held to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations mandate on Children and Armed Conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the meeting, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Chris Fearne stressed that the protection of children must remain at the heart of international efforts for peace and security. In 2025, the United Nations verified more than 14,200 cases of children killed or injured in conflicts, with explosive weapons and explosive remnants of war remaining among the leading causes of child casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I spent a large part of my life as a pediatric surgeon, working to save lives and protect the future of the most vulnerable. Behind every number is a face, a family, a dream and a future taken away. These are not simply statistics; they are innocent lives cut short,&#8221; Minister Fearne said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The discussion focused in particular on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Beyond killing and injuring children, these weapons can destroy schools, hospitals and essential services, leaving communities to deal with their consequences for years. Malta is among the 91 countries that have endorsed the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, which seeks to reduce harm to civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister Fearne also addressed how drones, autonomous systems and military applications of artificial intelligence are changing the way conflicts are fought. He stressed that human oversight, accountability and respect for international humanitarian law must remain fundamental as these technologies continue to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;If, as human beings, we are still unable to stop wars, then the very least we can do is protect innocent children. Every child deserves to live in safety, grow up in peace and have a future,&#8221; Minister Fearne concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Photo:<\/strong> MFEA<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_60123\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60123\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Malta led a high-level meeting at the United Nations in New York on the protection of children in armed conflict, with a particular focus on the devastating impact of explosive weapons in populated areas and the challenges posed by new and evolving technologies in warfare. The meeting, organized by the Permanent Mission of Malta in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_60123\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60123\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 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Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Malta led a high-level meeting at the United Nations in New York on the protection of children in armed conflict, with a particular focus on the devastating impact of explosive weapons in populated areas and the challenges posed by new and evolving technologies in warfare. The meeting, organized by the Permanent Mission of Malta in&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60123"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60128,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60123\/revisions\/60128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}