Human Rights Council – 61st Session
Item 3 - Interactive Dialogue with Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Statement delivered by Iceland
10 March 2026
Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic states. We thank the Special Representative for presenting the report and for her continued commitment to combat violence against children.
We welcome the growing global momentum to strengthen legal frameworks, national action plans, and cross-sectoral cooperation to prevent violence against children. At the same time, we are deeply concerned by the report’s findings on the increasing frequency and outreach of, and evolving nature of cyberbullying. The amplified harm, its severe consequences for children’s mental health and its intrusive capacity, underscore the importance of addressing violence in the digital environment with the help of responsive and preventive frameworks that respond to the development of technical advancements
Every child has a fundamental right to be protected from violence. We underscore the importance of keeping children’s rights, safety and privacy at the center of digital governance, as well as strengthening accountability frameworks to ensure that digital platforms provide the highest standards of protection.
Special representative, in light of the rapid evolving technological landscape, which immediate measures can States take to ensure that child protection frameworks remain effective and responsive to expanding digital threats?