‘We are at a point of no return’: grave violations against children surge for third year

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Last year, 41,370 grave violations against children were documented and verified by the United Nations, according to the Secretary-General’s annual report on children in armed conflict, released on Thursday.  

This number represents a 25 per cent increase from 2023, marking the third consecutive year that violations have increased. 22,495 violations were committed against children themselves while the remaining targeted infrastructure such as schools and humanitarian aid intended for and used by children.

“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 the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.

The report only details violations which could be independently verified by the United Nations, meaning the actual number of grave violations and children affected are likely much higher.

‘Children should not be a casualty of war’

The report attributed the increase to indiscriminate attacks — especially urban warfare — in addition to disregard for peace agreements and deepening humanitarian crises worldwide.

“Children living amidst hostilities are being stripped of their childhood … 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,” Ms. Gamba said.

In addition to the broader increase, the number of children subjected to multiple grave violations increased by 17 per cent.

The highest number of violations, 8,554, occurred in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories – more than double the number in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which followed.

Governments ‘blatantly’ ignore international law

The report noted that while non-State actors played an out-sized role in violations against individual children, government actors were the main forces responsible for killing and maiming children, attacking schools and hospitals, and denying humanitarian access.

“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,” Ms. Gamba said.

The report listed eight countries whose government forces violated international law and committed grave violations against children — the DRC, Israel, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Russia.

‘A wake-up call’

In 2024, 16,482 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support, but numbers of violations against children still remain staggeringly high.

The Secretary-General called on all Member States to adhere to their obligations under international law by upholding the rights and special protections of children while also expanding services to treat children who are victims of conflict.

Ms. Gamba reiterated this call, saying that the increase in grave violations should be a “wake-up call” and reminding the international community that indifference to such violations will not bring peace.

“We face a choice that defines who we are: to care, or to turn away …  We all share the duty to act—with urgency, with determination—to bring this suffering to an end. Not tomorrow. Not someday. Today,” she concluded.