More than 250 million children – 1 in 10 children globally – currently live in areas affected by armed conflicts and violence. By 2018, it is estimated that half of the world’s poor children and the majority of out-of-school children will live in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. In 2000, 23 per cent of the world’s children were living in the 52 countries designated as fragile by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank. By 2014, that figure had risen to 28 per cent, representing almost one third of the world’s child population. In these contexts, access to basic social services and the protection of child rights are largely hampered due to widespread insecurity and weak institutions, leading to child deprivation and increased poverty. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a specific goal on peaceful and inclusive societies, the international community has once again emphasized the centrality of peace and peacebuilding to achieving development. The Agenda calls for a stronger integration between the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding pillars of the United Nations. The United Nations has also undertaken three high-level reviews related to its peace operations and peacebuilding architecture, as well as on women, peace and security (Security Council Resolution 1325). Each of the reviews makes recommendations on how the United Nations should respond better as a system to the dynamics and effects of violent conflict, as well as address the underlying factors for achieving sustainable peace.