Violence against children caught in escalating global conflicts reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with Gaza, the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti among the worst affected, according to a United Nations report released Thursday.
The latest annual report on children in armed conflict, presented by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, revealed a staggering 25% increase in verified grave violations against children under 18 last year, following a 21% rise in 2023.
In total, the U.N. verified more than 41,000 violations, encompassing a harrowing range of abuses: killings, maiming, recruitment and abduction, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian aid.
“Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks,” Guterres said, lamenting the collapse of cease-fires and peace agreements amid deepening humanitarian crises.
He highlighted disturbing warfare tactics, including deliberate targeting of children, the use of increasingly destructive weapons in populated areas and the systematic exploitation of children as combatants.
The report singled out Israeli forces for the second consecutive year, documenting 7,188 verified grave violations, which include the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injuries to 941 others in Gaza.
While local health authorities report significantly higher numbers, the U.N.’s strict verification process offers a conservative estimate.
Guterres described the situation as “appalling” and urgently called on Israel to uphold international laws designed to protect children, schools and hospitals.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad also remained on the U.N. blacklist after the Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict.
Beyond the Middle East, the report cast a grim shadow over Africa and the Caribbean.
In Congo, over 4,000 grave violations affected more than 3,400 children.
Somalia and Nigeria each recorded thousands of violations, with more than 2,500 and 2,400 incidents, respectively.
Haiti, wracked by escalating gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, registered over 2,200 verified violations against more than 1,300 children.
The U.N. blacklisted the Viv Ansanm coalition, a powerful gang network controlling much of the Haitian capital, for the first time, linking it to numerous abuses including recruitment and widespread sexual violence.
The war in Ukraine, now in its third year, saw Russian forces and their affiliates remain on the U.N.’s blacklist, with 1,914 violations verified against 673 children.
Guterres expressed deep alarm at the violence, highlighting the killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injuries to hundreds more, and attacks on schools and hospitals that have devastated communities.
Sexual violence against children surged by 35% in 2024, with a sharp rise in gang rapes and abductions for sexual slavery.
Girls were disproportionately affected, with hundreds of cases reported in Haiti, Congo and Somalia, many at the hands of armed groups, militias and extremist factions.
Overall, the report detailed that 22,495 children were subjected to verified violations last year.
Armed groups were responsible for nearly half of these abuses, while government forces accounted for the majority of killings, maimings, attacks on education and health facilities, and obstruction of aid.
Notably, the number of children suffering multiple violations increased significantly, underscoring the devastating, repeated impacts of conflict on young lives.
Virginia Gamba, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, delivered a somber warning: “The cries of 22,495 innocent children, who should be learning to read or play ball, but instead have been forced to survive gunfire and bombings – should keep us all awake at night.”
She added, “We are at the point of no return,” urging the international community to act decisively and calling on all parties to “immediately end the war on children.”
