Six ways the Danish Presidency can invest in children and youth for a sustainable future  

From Ukraine to Gaza, Sudan to the Sahel, Haiti to Colombia, armed conflicts are marked by widespread, appalling violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Civilians now account for nearly 90% of war casualties. Attacks on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian workers continue to rise, and access to lifesaving aid is being blocked—often deliberately. Attacks on medical personnel and facilities continued in 2024, with new trends emerging that reflect blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. Between January and October 2024, 2,135 conflict-related attacks on health facilities were reported worldwide, leaving 605 of them damaged and 488 health workers dead.  

If the downward spiral in respect for the rules-based international order is to be reversed, the Danish Presidency must significantly scale up the EU’s political and humanitarian diplomacy.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Compliance: Ensure the full implementation of existing EU guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL, using all tools available—from statements and resolutions to effective sanctions, arms embargoes, and funding conditionality. Demand full accountability for perpetrators of war crimes. Additionally, encourage all member states to join the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-led global initiative launched in September 2024 to strengthen political commitment to IHL.
2. Strengthen the EU Global Observatory on Impunity: Actively support and strengthen the EU’s Global Observatory on the Fight Against Impunity as a driver of collective and accountable action against serious violations, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. 
3. Protect Civilians and ensure unrestricted Humanitarian Access to people in need: Champion humanitarian access and the protection of civilians in all contexts, with special focus on the rights and safety of women and girls. 

Globally, one in six children now lives in or are fleeing conflict zones. The scale and intensity of armed conflict are escalating, with devastating consequences for children and youth. In 2024, conflict-related violence against children rose 25% from 2023. The UN verified 41,370 grave violations affecting 22,495 children. Over 400 million now need protection, with girls at greater risk. Between October 2023 and May 2025, an estimated 50,000 children were killed or injured in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory. April 2025 was the deadliest month for children in Ukraine in nearly three years. In Colombia’s Catatumbo region, over 46,000 children face serious risks, including forced recruitment. 

Children are increasingly exposed to trauma, violence, and the breakdown of essential services like education, healthcare, and protection. These violations have lasting impacts on their health, wellbeing, and development. Investing in education, MHPSS, and child protection is vital. These services support survival, resilience, and recovery, and are key to the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Prioritise child protection across EU humanitarian and development responses: Ensure child protection is central to EU humanitarian and development responses by promoting integrated approaches across education, health, nutrition, and mental health and child protection—ensuring no one is left behind due to fragmented responses. 
2. Advance swift and comprehensive implementation of the updated EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict: Operationalise the revised EU Guidelines by supporting EU delegations and partners to enhance monitoring, reporting, and response—strengthening EU leadership in protecting children in war zones. 
3. Ensure the continuation of at least 10% of the EU Humanitarian Budget for Education in Emergencies (EiE): Champion the prioritisation of EiE in the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) negotiations, ensuring continued learning for crisis-affected children.  

The Danish Presidency arrives at a pivotal moment for redefining how the EU leverages public–private partnerships to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the Global Gateway Strategy becomes a cornerstone of the EU’s development cooperation, Denmark’s focus on leveraging private sector partnerships for development is both well-timed and strategically aligned. 

Closing the global financing gap requires targeted private sector engagement, impact investing, and innovative tools like blended finance. The Global Gateway offers a platform to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), drive local innovation, and build inclusive economies.

Civil society–private sector partnerships are vital to de-risk and direct investments where most needed. Stronger commitments must support growth-ready businesses that drive sustainable development, making private finance both accountable and profitable.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Embed the SDGs in Global Gateway Implementation: Ensure that the Global Gateway delivers on inclusive, sustainable development by embedding SDG targets across all public–private partnerships—especially in fragile and low-income contexts. 
2. Promote Local Value Creation and Job Generation: Champion investments that prioritise local production, decent work, and value retention in partner countries.

4. Support MSMEs and Inclusive Financing Models: Support financing for smaller, high-impact investments—especially MSMEs and local entrepreneurs in Least Developed Countries—while promoting civil society collaboration for inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable investments. Prioritise funding for technical assistance to build local capacity and develop investment-ready projects.
5. Champion Catalytic Capital in the Next MFF: Advocate for stronger commitments to catalytic capital in blended finance to mobilise private investment, support gender-responsive innovation, and scale SDG-aligned solutions.

An inclusive multilateral system must reflect global diversity, yet civil society—especially youth- and women-led groups from the Global South—remains underrepresented. These actors offer vital local knowledge and community ties, essential for shaping inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable investments.

Civil society bridges communities, governments, and the private sector, especially where MSMEs drive local economies but lack access to capital. Their involvement boosts transparency, accountability, and impact—key to initiatives like the EU’s Global Gateway.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Champion Civil Society Inclusion: Advocate for reforms within EU and UN systems that institutionalise civil society participation in agenda-setting, policy design, and implementation—particularly for Global South youth- and women-led organisations. 
2. Ensure Direct and Flexible Funding for CSOs: Prioritise accessible, predictable, and diversified funding for civil society in the next MFF. 
3. Institutionalise Youth Participation: Continue tosupport the establishment and resourcing of Youth Sounding Boards in partner countries, the implementation of the EU Youth Action Plan, and ensure youth voices are systematically included in EU Council deliberations and Team Europe Initiatives. 
4. Facilitate Business–CSO Partnerships: Advocate for EU development frameworks that foster business–CSO collaboration to ensure inclusive, locally relevant investments. 

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a key driver of economic growth, democratic resilience, and sustainable development. However, a global backlash fuelled by polarisation, shrinking civic space, and rising anti-rights groups threatens girls’ and women’s—especially adolescents’—sexual and reproductive health, political participation, and civic engagement. Investing in care, education, SRHR, and women’s empowerment can boost global GDP, yet gender equality is still sidelined in economic planning.

Unlocking gender equality’s potential requires systemic reforms in financing, measurement, and prioritisation, aligned with the EU Gender Action Plan III and upcoming IV. The Danish Presidency can champion this transformative agenda, connecting economic growth with gender justice and democracy.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Strengthen Access to Gender-Responsive Financing: Expand direct, flexible funding for women’s rights organisations and locally led initiatives. This includes supporting the care economy, SRHR, and youth-led gender equality movements. 
2. Integrate Gender into Macroeconomic Tools: Advocate for the inclusion of gender indicators in tax policy, debt relief frameworks, and public financial management systems. This will ensure that fiscal policies support gender equality rather than undermine, gender equality. 
3. Promote Private Sector Accountability: Encourage partnerships with businesses that commit to gender equality in their operations and supply chains.  

A decade after the Paris Agreement, climate finance—like the $300B annual target by 2035—offers hope but still falls short for developing countries. The EU and Member States can lead with bold, innovative funding for renewables, adaptation, and loss and damage. For children, especially girls, this is urgent: less than 4% of projects meet their needs, despite rising risks of disaster, displacement, and crisis.

While the EU has integrated climate action into its external investments, progress remains uneven. Only 23.8% of Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-GE) investments in 2021–2023 supported climate objectives—below the 30% target. Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s recent vote against accelerating the 2040 climate target signals a need for renewed political will ahead of 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). 

Denmark’s strong track record in green innovation and development cooperation positions it well to champion a more coherent and inclusive EU approach.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to: 

1. Advance EU Climate Commitments: Submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) ahead of COP30, addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on children, especially girls.
2. Targeted Climate Finance: Prioritise finance for those most affected—women, girls, children, and marginalised groups—by embedding gender equality and intergenerational equity.
3. Scale up Climate Finance & Job Creation: Expand climate finance through civil society and private sector partnerships to support youth resilience, green jobs, and sustainable livelihoods—focusing on renewables, adaptation, circular economy, WASH-agriculture, water access, and climate-smart tech.
4. Champion Children’s Climate Action: Encourage all member states tojoin the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action to accelerate inclusive, child- and youth-centered climate policies.