NEW YORK
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that the world must act "collectively and expeditiously" to protect children caught up in wars worldwide.
Speaking at a Security Council debate on children in armed conflict, Ban said as many as 230 million children live in countries and areas where armed groups are fighting and up to 15 million children were effected by the violence.
“The world’s children are increasingly under threat in theatres of war,” he said. “Last year was considered one of the worst ever for children in areas affected by conflict.”
The UN children agency UNICEF recently said that 2014 was a "year of devastation" for millions of children caught up in violent conflicts in Palestine, Syria, Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan and Ukraine.
"Increasingly, children are snatched from a normal life of school and family, abducted by armed groups and thrown into a life of violence and horror," Ban said.
Hundreds of children were kidnapped in 2014 from their schools or on their way to school, and tens of thousands have been recruited or used by armed forces and groups, according to the UN.
