UNITED NATIONS, June 18 : A record number of children endured grave violations by parties to armed conflict in 2025, the highest since the beginning of the children and armed conflict mandate 30 years ago, a UN report shows.
The United Nations verified 38,558 grave violations against children in armed conflict in 2025, affecting 24,174 children, with thousands subjected to multiple violations, according to an annual report of the UN secretary-general on children and armed conflict, released on Wednesday.
For the first time in 30 years, government forces were the main perpetrators of grave violations against children in armed conflict, finds the report.
Killing (6,266) and maiming (7,958) remained the most verified violations, with a shocking 34 percent increase in killing compared with 2024, says the report.
The denial of humanitarian access and the recruitment and use of children followed, with 8,322 incidents and 6,607 children affected, respectively.
Children continued to be abducted in high numbers (5,129), often for the purpose of recruitment and use or sexual violence. Rape and other forms of sexual violence continued unabated, with gang rape used as a tactic of war verified in increasing numbers.
Landmines and explosive remnants of war remained a grave challenge to children, as well as impaired social and economic development.
The report notes that the information, which involved only UN-verified cases, does not represent the full scale of violations against children in armed conflict.
The year “2025 was without a doubt one of the darkest chapters for child protection since monitoring began,” said Vanessa Frazier, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, in a press release.
“When states, on whom the obligation to protect children falls, instead contribute to their suffering, it signals the deeper erosion of respect for international law. The principles of humanity, distinction, proportionality, and necessity must be restored — without exception,” she added.
A total of 1,667 children were detained in 2025 for their actual or alleged association with parties to conflict. Frazier stressed that these children must be treated as victims, and that detention should be a measure of last resort, and that reintegration should be favored.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the children and armed conflict mandate from the UN General Assembly.
