From Refugee Camps to Digital Threats, Third Committee Speakers Warn Rights under Strain amid Conflict, Displacement, Inequality

From Refugee Camps to Digital Threats, Third Committee Speakers Warn Rights under Strain amid Conflict, Displacement, Inequality

Wars, displacement and rapidly evolving technologies are putting fundamental rights under mounting strain, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, spotlighting the plight of refugees and children caught in conflict, persistent discrimination against women and girls and new threats emerging in the digital sphere.

A youth delegate from Poland captured that sense of fragility, warning that "having rights today does not guarantee that we will have them tomorrow". Young people often pay the highest price when rights are threatened, she said, pointing to a girl denied education and public life in Afghanistan, a child thrust into conflict in South Sudan and a young Ukrainian refugee rebuilding her life in Poland. Recalling the circumstances that led to the creation of the United Nations, she cautioned: "When power prevails over rules, human lives pay the price."

Bangladesh's representative likewise warned that confidence in the United Nations and international law is at an "all-time low", although "all is not lost yet". The international community's work should be judged by one question: "Does it improve the lives and protect the rights of people?" As conflicts multiply and humanitarian assistance dwindles, diverting funds from development to military spending weakens both security and human rights, she observed. Turning to Rohingya refugees who have lived in camps in Bangladesh for years, she called for a realistic plan for their safe return to Myanmar. "We must close the gap between rhetoric and reality, between promise and delivery," she stated.

Speakers Urge Protection of Migrants, Refugees, Children

The challenge of turning humanitarian response into durable solutions also emerged in Syria's intervention. Its representative said some 4 million refugees and internally displaced persons have returned since December 2024, highlighting the Government's "Syria without Camps" plan. Camps cannot simply be closed, he stressed: mines and unexploded ordnance must be addressed, homes rehabilitated and basic services restored. He called for international support spanning temporary humanitarian assistance, reconstruction and the empowerment of returning communities.

"For a nation shaped by migration and sustained by strong ties with its diaspora, respect for the dignity and rights of migrants is essential," said the representative of Cabo Verde, stressing that those rights must be protected regardless of migration status.

Chile's representative, meanwhile, linked migration to the growing reach of transnational organized crime, which has turned irregular migration into a business through the sale of migrants. While border control is a sovereign responsibility, cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination is essential to protect victims, he emphasized, adding: "Regular and orderly migration is the best protection against these networks."

Citing the Secretary-General's report on children and armed conflict, he said over 24,000 children suffered grave violations in 2025 - the highest number recorded - with Governments responsible for the majority. "Boys and girls are not combatants, nor are they military targets," he declared, also highlighting child sexual abuse in the digital sphere and recruitment by organized crime.

Promises Must Reach Schools, Families, Communities

Speakers then turned to girls whose rights are curtailed by discrimination and harmful practices. Sierra Leone's representative highlighted her country's 2024 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and its initiative leading the General Assembly to proclaim 27 November the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. "Political commitment must become national action - and national action must become progress that people can feel," she said, stressing that promises made in the Third Committee must reach schools, communities and families.

Ireland's representative focused on Afghanistan, where women and girls are excluded from education, employment, public life and freedom of movement. "Nowhere are the rights of women and girls more abjectly denied than in Afghanistan," he said, calling the Taliban's oppression of women and girls "an affront to basic freedoms and human dignity".

Broadening the focus to social protection, Congo's representative said multiple crises are hitting vulnerable groups hardest. He pointed to national legislation protecting persons with disabilities from discrimination and expanding access to education, training and employment, as well as measures combating violence against women and girls. "Protecting the most vulnerable can only be achieved if we doggedly fight against all forms of discrimination, exclusion and intolerance," he stressed.

El Salvador's delegate declared that "transforming our society begins by providing comprehensive care in early childhood". Her country has allocated $1.6 million in computers and tech in public education and announced 50,000 university and vocational scholarships. "The international community should ensure that a person's birthplace, economic situation or lack of connectivity do not determine educational opportunities for children and youth," she added.

Denmark's representative pointed to another gap - between recognition of Indigenous Peoples' rights and their implementation. She urged States to "resist attempts to weaken agreed standards or dilute their distinct status as Peoples and rights-holders", reaffirming their right to self-determination, as well as to lands, territories and natural resources.

Rights Move into the Digital Sphere

Yet, some of the fastest-evolving threats discussed today were unfolding online. "Technology-facilitated violence disproportionately affects women and girls, and traffickers increasingly exploit digital platforms to recruit and control their victims," the Republic of Korea's representative warned. His country is using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect deepfake sexual imagery and facilitate its removal from platforms, while also working internationally to combat trafficking in the digital space. Technology can also advance human rights, he added, calling for access to "global AI" so that no one is excluded from its basic benefits.

Picking up that thread, Bahrain's representative highlighted efforts to equip adolescents against cyberthreats, including an awareness-raising video game to protect their personal information. Concurrently, she stressed that protecting civilians remains a prerequisite for peace, security and sustainable development, condemning Iranian attacks on her country and their impact on civilians, infrastructure and basic services.

For Hungary's youth delegate, however, the digital age poses a more fundamental challenge to young people's relationship with society itself. Recalling conversations with over 2,000 young people, he described a generation confronting "digital addiction, artificial intelligence, social isolation and a deepening mental health crisis" alongside daily headlines of war, climate disasters and political conflict.

That combination, he warned, is breeding powerlessness and disengagement. Young people need permanent structures for meaningful participation, he said, leaving the Committee with a warning against merely symbolic inclusion: "A seat at the table that changes nothing teaches the same lesson as no seat at all."