According to an annual report presented on Monday by the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, children continue to be killed or mutilated “at an alarming rate” in several conflict zones, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Sudan.
These violence are not limited to a few isolated incidents. They take different forms depending on the conflicts, but everywhere they have devastating consequences for children.
In Afghanistan, Gaza, Myanmar, Syria, and Ukraine, explosive devices have had a “devastating and lasting” impact on the youngest. In some contexts, especially in the Palestinian enclave and in Sudan, children have also died from starvation, the report notes, covering the period from December 2024 to December 2025.
Rising Violations
Speaking before the Human Rights Council, Vanessa Frazier warned that the observed dynamics in recent years show no signs of reversal. Serious violations against children continue at a “shocking” level.
The UN official specifically mentions “murders and mutilations of children, abduction of children, denial of humanitarian access, and recruitment and use of children” as violations that are “particularly alarming.”
“Based on the analysis of data available to us to date, it appears that murders and mutilations of children, as well as abductions of children, have increased,” she said, adding that “rapes and other forms of sexual violence remain chronically under-reported.”
Available data for 2024 already give an indication of the magnitude of the phenomenon. The United Nations verified 41,370 serious violations against 22,495 children, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year.
Murders and mutilations top the list of documented violations, followed by denial of humanitarian access, recruitment and use of children by armed forces or groups, and then abductions.
Despite Everything, Some Releases
Amid this dark picture, some advances exist nevertheless. In several conflicts, thousands of children have been able to be released from armed forces or armed groups.
In Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria, the United Nations continues discussions with conflict parties to secure the release of children associated with armed groups.
Meanwhile, training and technical assistance programs have been put in place to help national security forces prevent these violations and implement protocols for transferring children to protection structures. Such initiatives are especially being carried out in Haiti, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, and the Lake Chad Basin.
The Shadow of Budget Cuts
However, these progress remain fragile. According to the UN, the reduction in humanitarian funding and the decline in peace operations now limit the organization’s capacity to monitor, verify, and prevent violations against children.
“The global decrease in humanitarian funding and the reduction in UN peace operations have a direct impact on the implementation of the program related to children and armed conflicts, with devastating consequences for children,” warned Vanessa Frazier.
As the world commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the UN mandate on children and armed conflicts this year, the official believes that urgency remains full. Despite the existence of tools to protect minors, their implementation still depends on “political will, adequate resources, and sustainable commitment.”
