According to a new United Nations report, the violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels in 2024. Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities, indiscriminate attacks, disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements, and deepening humanitarian crises. As conflicts raging across the globe kill, maim, starve, or rape children, 22,495 children were verified as victims.
Published on Thursday, the report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict reveals that 41,370 incidents were verified, including 5,149 that occurred prior to 2024 but were not verified until that year.
This is the highest number of grave violations against children in armed conflict since the mandate of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict began, marking a 25 percent increase compared to 2023 and the third consecutive year with alarming figures.
The highest number of grave violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including the Gaza Strip (8,554); the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,043); Somalia (2,568); Nigeria (2,436); Haiti (2,269); Myanmar (2,138); Sudan (2,041); and Ukraine (1,914).
Sadly, this is only the tip of the iceberg. As the report only documents verified numbers, the actual numbers are expected to be much higher. The report also only covers 24 countries and one regional situation: the Lake Chad Basin region. Furthermore, thousands of reported grave violations from 2024 are still pending verification.
The report also identifies the worst perpetrator of grave violations last year. At least 7,742 grave violations were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces, accounting for 19 percent of the total incidents. For the first time, last year's report listed Israeli government forces for killing and maiming children, as well as for attacking schools and hospitals in the annex.
The annex lists parties that commit grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict and includes the most egregious state and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) responsible for serious abuses against children.
Although NSAGs were responsible for nearly half of all grave violations in 2024, government forces were primarily responsible for the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.
Last year, indiscriminate attacks, disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements, and deepening humanitarian crises severely weakened the protection of children in hostilities due to a blatant disregard for international law and the rights and special protections of children by all parties to conflict.
“The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball − but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings − should keep all of us awake at night,” said Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, in a statement.
“This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return.”
She called on the international community to renew its commitment to the universal consensus to protect children from armed conflict and urged warring parties to immediately cease their attacks on children and uphold the core principles of international humanitarian law (IHL).
Gamba added that the core principles of IHL "impose limits on the destruction and suffering caused by armed conflict: humanity, distinction, proportionality, and necessity."
The overall number of children in the report includes 11,967 killed or maimed, with 4,676 killed and 7,291 maimed — the most prevalent violation — followed by 7,906 incidents of denied humanitarian access and 7,402 cases of child recruitment or use in armed conflict.
The report found that most grave violations increased in 2024, including attacks on schools (44 percent) and rape and other forms of sexual violence (34 percent). Additionally, the number of children who were victims of multiple grave violations increased by 17 percent due to the convergence of abduction, recruitment and use, and sexual violence, which represents an alarming escalation in brutality.
“Heavy bombardments, missile strikes, and the relentless use of explosive weapons in urban areas have turned homes and neighborhoods into battlefields,” said Gamba, adding that the “widespread deployment of landmines and the neglect of explosive remnants have left entire communities contaminated, posing a constant threat to civilians.”
She warned that the consequences are especially dire for children, as these weapons alone account for one-quarter of all those killed or injured in hostilities.
A total of 3,018 children were detained for their actual or alleged association with parties to conflict, marking an increase compared to the previous year.
The Special Representative emphasized that children released from armed groups or forces should primarily be treated as victims, and alternatives to detention should be sought while considering the best interests of the child. She also called on the international community to support age- and gender-appropriate reintegration programs.
“Children living amidst hostilities are being stripped of their childhood. Instead of recognizing the special protection afforded to children, governments and armed groups around the world blatantly ignore international law that defines a child as anyone under 18,” Gamba said.
“When we allow this to happen, we are not just failing to protect children - we are taking away their chance to grow up safe, to go to school, and to live a life with dignity and hope.”
While the situation for children has worsened in several countries, including Lebanon, Mozambique, and Haiti, where there was a sharp rise in grave violations, nearly 16,500 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration assistance in 2024.
This is an increase compared to 2023, bringing the total number of children released from groups or parties in armed conflicts since 2005 to over 200,000.
The report offers another glimmer of hope. Countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, and the Philippines will be removed from the agenda as of next year due to positive developments for children, including prevention measures.
"With in front of us the record number of children suffering from the harms of avoidable conflict in 2024, we face a choice that defines who we are: to care, or to turn away. Childhood should not be a casualty of war. Peace should not be the price of indifference," she stressed.
“We all share the duty to act—with urgency, with determination—to bring this suffering to an end. Not tomorrow. Not someday. Today.”
Further information
Full text: Summary: Children and armed conflict, Report of the UN Secretary-General (S/2025/247), United Nations, Summary, released, June 19, 2025
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Summary-of-the-Annual-Report-on-Children-and-Armed-Conflict.pdf
Full text: Children and armed conflict, Report of the UN Secretary-General (S/2025/247), United Nations, released, June 19, 2025
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Secretary-General-Annual-Report-on-Children-and-Armed-Conflict-Covering-2024.pdf
Website: Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/