Kids in terror ranks a sign of worry, says Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla

NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday said an increasing number of children are being recruited and involved in terror-related activities as terror groups take advantage of their susceptibility to manipulation.

“School closures due to the pandemic have provided a greater opportunity to these groups to target children, including through online avenues, for radicalisation and indoctrination in violent extremist ideologies.

We believe that there is a need for a more coordinated approach in implementing the child protection and counter-terrorism agendas. States need to demonstrate the greater political will to hold the perpetrators of terrorism...,” he said at the UNSC’s open debate on children and armed conflict. Shringla noted that the pandemic has further negatively impacted children in situations of armed conflict by hampering their access to education, health and social services.