UN: Record 24,174 Children Hit by Grave Violations in 2025
(MENAFN) The head of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, told the UN Security Council on Monday that the world’s promises to shield children from war are going unfulfilled while the dangers they face grow.
She spoke at a briefing marking 30 years since Graca Machel, the Mozambican children’s rights advocate, published a landmark report on how armed conflict affects children.
“While the international community has built a strong framework to protect children in war, the reality for children living through conflict is increasingly dangerous,” Russell said.
Violations climb to historic levels
The UN has verified over 430,000 grave violations against children in conflict since 2005, and 2025 accounted for more than 38,000 of them. Russell put it this way:
“Since 2005, the United Nations has verified more than 430,000 grave violations against children in armed conflict — more than 38,000 were in 2025 alone,” she said.
The state of Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria recorded the most verified violations last year, she said. She cautioned that the figures understate the problem.
“And these are only the violations the United Nations was able to verify. The true scale is undoubtedly greater,” Russell noted.
Aid access and explosive weapons
Since 2005, the UN has also verified more than 44,000 incidents in which humanitarian access was denied, including over 8,000 in 2025. Russell warned of the consequence.
“At the very moment children most need protection, our ability to reach them is being undermined,” she added.
She singled out explosive weapons in populated areas as a leading cause of harm.
“More than 70% of verified child casualties in 2025 were caused by explosive weapons.”
“These weapons do not only kill and injure children. They destroy schools, hospitals, water systems, and other infrastructure essential to children’s survival and development. The consequences can last long after the fighting has stopped,” she said.
She called the trends “deeply alarming” but insisted they “are not inevitable.”
A call for immediate action
Russell argued that history shows change can happen.
“Three decades of experience have shown us that progress is possible when political will is matched by sustained engagement and concrete action by member states,” she added.
She pressed the Council to act without delay, saying that “the children caught in today’s conflicts cannot wait another 30 years for the protection they have been promised. We must act and we must act now.”
Record number of children affected
Vanessa Frazier, the secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, told the Council that decades of legal frameworks, advocacy, and engagement with parties to conflict had produced “concrete results.”
“More than 40 action plans have been signed to date with parties to conflict, contributing to the release of over 220,000 children from armed forces and groups and their transfer to civilian child-protection actors,” she said.
Last year’s figures were nonetheless the worst on record, she said.
“In 2025, the UN verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children. This is the highest number of children affected since this mandate was established.”
For the first time in the mandate’s history, government forces were responsible for most of the verified grave violations, she said.
“This is deeply troubling. I condemn all grave violations against children, in every situation and every conflict, irrespective of who commits them,” Frazier said.
“No party is exempt from its duty to protect children or from scrutiny when violations are committed,” she said.
She spoke at a briefing marking 30 years since Graca Machel, the Mozambican children’s rights advocate, published a landmark report on how armed conflict affects children.
“While the international community has built a strong framework to protect children in war, the reality for children living through conflict is increasingly dangerous,” Russell said.
Violations climb to historic levels
The UN has verified over 430,000 grave violations against children in conflict since 2005, and 2025 accounted for more than 38,000 of them. Russell put it this way:
“Since 2005, the United Nations has verified more than 430,000 grave violations against children in armed conflict — more than 38,000 were in 2025 alone,” she said.
The state of Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria recorded the most verified violations last year, she said. She cautioned that the figures understate the problem.
“And these are only the violations the United Nations was able to verify. The true scale is undoubtedly greater,” Russell noted.
Aid access and explosive weapons
Since 2005, the UN has also verified more than 44,000 incidents in which humanitarian access was denied, including over 8,000 in 2025. Russell warned of the consequence.
“At the very moment children most need protection, our ability to reach them is being undermined,” she added.
She singled out explosive weapons in populated areas as a leading cause of harm.
“More than 70% of verified child casualties in 2025 were caused by explosive weapons.”
“These weapons do not only kill and injure children. They destroy schools, hospitals, water systems, and other infrastructure essential to children’s survival and development. The consequences can last long after the fighting has stopped,” she said.
She called the trends “deeply alarming” but insisted they “are not inevitable.”
A call for immediate action
Russell argued that history shows change can happen.
“Three decades of experience have shown us that progress is possible when political will is matched by sustained engagement and concrete action by member states,” she added.
She pressed the Council to act without delay, saying that “the children caught in today’s conflicts cannot wait another 30 years for the protection they have been promised. We must act and we must act now.”
Record number of children affected
Vanessa Frazier, the secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, told the Council that decades of legal frameworks, advocacy, and engagement with parties to conflict had produced “concrete results.”
“More than 40 action plans have been signed to date with parties to conflict, contributing to the release of over 220,000 children from armed forces and groups and their transfer to civilian child-protection actors,” she said.
Last year’s figures were nonetheless the worst on record, she said.
“In 2025, the UN verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children. This is the highest number of children affected since this mandate was established.”
For the first time in the mandate’s history, government forces were responsible for most of the verified grave violations, she said.
“This is deeply troubling. I condemn all grave violations against children, in every situation and every conflict, irrespective of who commits them,” Frazier said.
“No party is exempt from its duty to protect children or from scrutiny when violations are committed,” she said.
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