Quote by Graça Machel: “Children are not the causes of wars, but they are among its most tragic victims.”

Wars are started by adults for political and economic reasons, but it is children who pay the heaviest price — losing parents, homes, childhoods, and futures. Recognising this is not just an observation; it is a moral demand to protect the most vulnerable when conflict breaks out.

Machel presented her UN report 'Impact of Armed Conflict on Children' in 1996, following genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and ongoing civil wars across Sub-Saharan Africa. The report led directly to new international protocols on child soldiers and children in conflict zones.

Mozambican humanitarian and politician who served as Mozambique's first Minister of Education after independence. Her landmark 1996 UN report on the impact of armed conflict on children transformed international humanitarian law and child protection policy globally.