These findings appear in the UN’s annual report on children and armed conflict, which identifies six serious violations: killings and mutilations, recruitment and use of child soldiers, kidnappings, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as denial of access to humanitarian aid.
A total of 38,558 serious violations were verified in 2025, affecting 24,174 children, many of whom suffered multiple violations. A third of the victims were girls.
This is the highest number recorded since the creation, thirty years ago, of the United Nations mandate on children and armed conflict.
A worrying turning point
For the first time, government forces appear to be the main perpetrators of serious violations against children. They are notably responsible for a large number of murders and mutilations, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid.
This worrying development comes against a backdrop of intensifying fighting, increased use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas and increasing use of artificial intelligence in military targeting operations.
“The year 2025 will undoubtedly remain one of the darkest chapters for the protection of children since our monitoring began,†said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier.
She recalled that the mandate on children and armed conflict was originally created to respond to violations committed by non-state armed groups who, by definition, act outside the law. The fact that government forces are now among the main perpetrators of these violations therefore constitutes, according to her, a particularly worrying signal which “testifies to a deeper erosion of respect for international law”.
“We cannot accept that state actors, who are supposed to act in accordance with the law, also begin to act outside this framework,” she insisted.
Mohammad Hassan sits on a hospital bed in Gaza after his left leg was amputated by a strike.
Sharp increase in deaths and mutilations
The highest levels of violations were recorded in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel (12,445), followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (4,114), Nigeria (2,560), Myanmar (2,203) and Somalia (2.195).
Murders and mutilations remain the most frequent violations. In 2025, 6,266 children were killed and 7,958 others mutilated. The report shows an alarming increase of 34% in deaths and 10% in mutilations compared to the previous year.
According to the UN, in many conflicts, military strategies have ignored the principles of distinction and proportionality, as well as the special protections to which children are entitled, exposing them to foreseeable and avoidable dangers.
Obstructed humanitarian aid and sexual violence
The denial of humanitarian access constitutes the second most frequently recorded violation, with 8,322 verified incidents. In addition, 6,607 children were recruited or used by parties to conflict and 5,129 were kidnapped, often for the purposes of recruitment, exploitation or sexual violence.
Rape and other forms of sexual violence continued to be committed on a large scale. The report notes in particular an increase in verified cases of gang rape used as a tactic of war.
Children also remain particularly vulnerable to mines and explosive remnants of war, which continue to kill and maim long after fighting has ended, with lasting consequences on their health, education and reintegration.
Rebuilding lives
In 2025, 1,667 children were deprived of their liberty due to their real or presumed association with armed forces or groups.
Ms. Frazier recalled that these children must above all be considered victims and that detention should only be used as a last resort. She underlined the essential role of reintegration programs in peacebuilding.
“It is through reintegration that a child’s future is rebuilt – and, with it, our common future,” she declared, calling on the international community to strengthen its political and financial support for children released from armed forces and groups, including those living with disabilities.
Protecting children is an obligation
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the United Nations mandate on children and armed conflict, the report also highlights several advances.
Last year, 13,112 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups benefited from protection or support for reintegration. Around forty commitments were also made by different parties to the conflicts, notably in Somalia, Ukraine and Colombia.
For Ms Frazier, however, this progress remains insufficient given the scale of the needs.
“Words are no longer enough. We need lasting and resolute actions,” she insisted, recalling that “protecting children is not an aspiration: it is an obligation.”
