India's UN envoy Harish Parvathaneni urged the UN Security Council to hold those who attack schools and children during armed conflicts accountable.
This push for accountability comes as international bodies struggle to protect the right to education amid rising global instability. Without legal consequences for perpetrators, the safety of students and teachers in conflict zones remains precarious.
Speaking during a UN Security Council open debate on the protection of education in 2025, Parvathaneni said that protecting children is incomplete without accountability [1]. He said that education must remain a protected right even during war [2].
The call for action follows a UN report indicating that violations against children in armed conflicts reached record levels in 2025 [3]. These violations include direct attacks on educational facilities, which disrupt the fundamental right to learning for millions of youth.
Parvathaneni said the international community must move beyond condemnation to ensure that those responsible for such attacks face justice [1]. The envoy said that the continued targeting of schools undermines global efforts to maintain peace and security in volatile regions.
India's position underscores a broader demand for the UN to strengthen its monitoring and reporting mechanisms. By focusing on accountability, the envoy said that the global community can create a deterrent against the weaponization of education [1, 2].
“Protecting children is incomplete without accountability.”
India's insistence on accountability reflects a shift toward demanding concrete legal consequences rather than just diplomatic censure. By highlighting the record levels of violations in 2025, India is leveraging UN data to push for a more rigorous enforcement of international humanitarian law regarding the protection of civilian infrastructure.
