Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Thank you for giving me a last-minute opportunity to speak about World Children’s Day.

Yesterday, I welcomed representatives from World Vision and Save the Children to the Senate to talk to us about another aspect of this international day: the plight of children in times of war.

I was there with Senator Ataullahjan, who spoke to us about the plight of children in Rohingya camps, along with Senator Al Zaibak and Senator Coyle.

The numbers are alarming. According to the United Nations, in 2024, a record number of children were subjected to violence in conflict zones. Twenty-two thousand, five hundred children were killed, injured, denied humanitarian aid, or recruited to participate in conflict. Those who survive are traumatized by their suffering and loss.

Violence has increased against children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Nigeria, but also in Gaza and, more recently, in Sudan, where there have been reports of massacres of civilians, pregnant women, and children. In Haiti, too, sexual violence against children is on the rise amid the chaos. It is as serious as guns and bombs.

The conflict in Sudan is one of those forgotten and virtually invisible conflicts where children are being targeted. Around El Fasher, massacres are on the rise, but the world has not reacted with horror because the warring parties have adopted a radical tactic: They refuse to let journalists in, so there is no media coverage, no images and no awareness.

Children in Sudan are dying, either from hunger or from gunfire. Radio-Canada journalist Sophie Langlois went to the refugee camps on the border. She observed that children there are still going hungry because humanitarian organizations don’t have enough provisions to fill their bellies. Worse still, mothers would rather see their emaciated children die from a bullet than from hunger. Starvation is a slow and terrible way to die, as the body’s vital systems shut down one by one.

Our mission should be to protect children in times of war. In fact, our mission should be to protect all children so they have a chance to experience wonder, to learn and to enjoy their childhood, not live a life of fear and hunger.

Thank you.