The UN Security Council convened a meeting on "Children, technology, and education in conflict", chaired by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.
The United States, which holds the rotating presidency for March, decided to have President Donald Trump's wife to chair the meeting. Usually, the UN ambassador or senior official takes the gavel. While there have been instances of First Ladies taking part in Security Council meetings, Monday was the first time a sitting First Lady has formally presided over a Council meeting.
With 234 million children in conflict situations in need of educational support, and 85 million completely out of school, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Council. She said the debate comes at "a moment of exceptional relevance". Technology can help to sustain access, but without safeguards, children are vulnerable to recruitment, exploitation and widening inequality.
The meeting comes at a time when 473 million children — one in every five children — are living in or fleeing a conflict zone.
Council resolution 2601 (2021) is a crucial element in the normative framework aimed at ensuring children's access to education during conflict. Among other provisions, it calls on Member States to "promote the adoption of remote learning solutions, including digital learning, literacy, and skills", as well as to provide assistance for the continuation of education for refugee and displaced children.
DiCarlo noted that these days prove that children are among the most affected by conflict. Schools in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have closed and moved to remote learning. Noting reports from Iran about the death of dozens of children in a strike that hit an elementary school in the town of Minab, she added: "United States authorities have announced that they are looking into these reports."
In 2024 alone, the UN verified a total of 2,374 attacks on schools and hospitals.
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Business News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.