A record number of children were subjected to violence in armed conflict zones in 2024, according to a harrowing new report by the United Nations. The annual Children and Armed Conflict report, presented to the UN Security Council, revealed a 25% rise in grave violations against children, with 22,495 affected by killings, injuries, recruitment, or the denial of humanitarian aid.
The total number of verified violations, including some committed in earlier years but only confirmed in 2024, reached a staggering 41,370, the highest since the UN began documenting such incidents in 1996.
“This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return,” said Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. “Instead of recognising the special protection afforded to children, governments and armed groups around the world blatantly ignore international law.”
Among the most alarming statistics were a 44% rise in attacks on schools and a 35% increase in incidents of sexual violence against children. The number of children subjected to multiple violations also surged from 2,684 in 2023 to 3,137 last year, with many facing abductions, recruitment, and sexual abuse simultaneously.
Gaza was singled out in the report as one of the worst-affected areas, with 4,856 verified violations, primarily carried out by Israeli security forces. These included killings, injuries, and the denial of medical permits. The report also confirmed that 22 Palestinian boys had been used as human shields in Gaza, and five in the occupied West Bank.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti also saw sharp rises in violence against children. Of more than 4,000 verified cases in the DRC, over half involved the recruitment of children by armed groups. Nigeria recorded 419 cases of sexual violence, while DRC reported 358, Somalia 267, and Haiti, which accounted for over a quarter of all such incidents, saw 406 cases of rape and 160 involving gang rape.
UN expresses concern over rise in gang rape
The report expressed concern over the “dramatic” rise in gang rape and the abduction of girls for sexual slavery, noting that sexual violence was increasingly being used as a deliberate weapon of war.
“This level of violence against children cannot be allowed to become normalised,” said Helen Pattinson, CEO of War Child UK. “To accept it is to dismantle our collective humanity. Governments must act now to end this grief, trauma, and loss.”
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, echoed those sentiments. “Sexual violence must be treated with the same gravity as guns and bombs,” she said. “This brutality, particularly when inflicted upon children, is one of the most deplorable aspects of modern conflict.”
As the number of violations continues to climb, humanitarian organisations are urging governments and international bodies to take urgent action to protect children and hold perpetrators accountable.
