The observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2026 highlights the vital connection between children’s rights, early childhood development, and the building of lasting peace. Entitled “Invest in Children, Invest in Peace: Advancing Children’s Rights in Conflict and Displacement,” this statement emphasizes that peace begins with ensuring every child’s safety, dignity, development, and access to essential services.
Children affected by armed conflict, humanitarian crises, and displacement face serious risks, including family separation, interrupted education and healthcare, violence, exploitation, discrimination, and detention. These experiences can cause lasting harm not only to individual children but also to families and communities across generations. In response, the statement calls on the United Nations Member States and the international community to strengthen legal protections, invest in trauma-sensitive and culturally responsive early childhood development programs, support local actors, and promote rights-based alternatives to child immigration detention.
